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MB. EAST'S KXPEEIENCES 



IN 



MR. BELLAMY'S WORLD 



IRecotDs of tbe Igeats 2001 anb 2002 



BY 

CONRAD WILBRANDT 

\ 

TRANSLATED FROM THB GERMAN 

BY 

MARY J. SAFFORD 

\ 



NEW YORK .... 
HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKXIN SQUA'jflE 

1891 '.* :''•: . 



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TO NEW YORK 

PUBLIC LIB.IARY 

238440A 

ASTOR, Lr:N03t AND 
TILDEN rOUr J NATIONS 



Copyright, 1891, by HABPia & Brothbrs. 



All HghtB rmerved. 






EDITOR'S PREFACE. 



I WAS requested by Herr Ost's relatives to examine 
the papers he had left, and to select those which I 
deemed suitable for publication. His records of the 
years 2001 and 2002 seemed to me noteworthy, and I 
thought that they should not be withheld from the 
pubhc. 

Like Mr. Bellamy's Julian "West, Friedrich Ost * had 
the experience of being transported into a distant fut- 
ure. Like the former in the year 2000, the latter in 
the following ones became a witness of a new order 
of things in society and in the State, and confided to 
paper what he experienced, heard, and saw. That his 
observations led to different conclusions from Julian 
West's cannot render his narrative less valuable in 
my eyes. 

On the contrary, this difference of observation and 
opinion made me consider publication a duty. Many 
hundred thousand copies of Looking Backwa/rd have 
been sold, so the book probably has had millions of 
readers. Have not these millions who have read with 
interest descriptions of the new arrangement of the 
world, who have all been charmed, perhaps, with the 
glimpses Julian West gave them of the life of our 
posterity — have not those millions a right to ask that 



iv EDITOB^S PBBFAOE. 

other descriptions, which show the other side of the 
life of that world, shall not be withheld ? I, at least, 
believed it to be their due, and hope that they will 
devour this little work with the same eagerness. 

This, of course, does not mean to imply that readers 
of a different opinion would not be cordially welcome. 

D. H. 

* Frederick East.— JV. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAP. PAQI 

editor's preface iii 

I. BURIAL AND RESURRECTION 1 

II. THE FIRST BEGINNINGS OF THE NEW LIFE ... 19 

III. HOW SOCIALISTIC LIFE APPEARS IN THE NEWSPA- 

PERS 36 

IV. A VISIT TO THE CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF STA- 

TISTICS •84 

v. DEPARTURE AND HOME-MAKING . 114 

vi. SISTER Martha's journal 130 

Vn. A CONVERSATION WITH THE CHANCELLOR. . . .165 

Vin. HOW THE WORLD LOOKED 183 

IX. A HAPPY EVENT AND A BIT OF BAD NEWS . . . 203 
Z. HOW THE SCHOLARS OF THE SOCIALISTIC STATE RE- 
GARD THR TARIFF SYSTEM OF THE PAST . . .213 

XL THE END OF SOCIETY 235 

APPENDIX 247 



Mr. FREDERICK EAST'S EXPERIENCES 

IN 

Mr. BELLAMY'S WORLD. 



CHAPTER I. 
BUBIAL AND RESUBEEOTION. 

On the 25th day of November, 1890, 1 reached the 
last page of Edward Bellamy's book Looking Bach- 
wa/rd. This much-read volume has exerted a singular 
influence upon me and my destiny. Indirectly, if not 
directly, it has been the cause of my having shared the 
fate of the hero of the romance — that of being trans- 
ferred from the time to which I belonged by date of 
birth to a period far removed from it. 

I was bom in the year 1833, and therefore was fifty- 
seven years old when I read Mr. Bellamy's novel. Now 
I take up my pen to record my experiences in the years 
2001 and 2002. . My existence during these years, and 
my ability to give an account of that period, I owe to an 
event which could not have happened save for the im- 
pressions produced by this book. 

Edward Bellamy described in his romantic tale the 

prosperity and happiness of an age that lay before me 

in the misty distance, but which promised to our pos- 
1 



2 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST's EXFEBIENOBS 

terity a future of unusual happiness. Its hero was the 
American, Julian West, of Boston, who had experienced 
the strange fate of being waked from a mesmeric slum- 
ber, into which he had fallen in 1887, by some excava- 
tions made in the year 2000 by workmen who destroyed 
his subterranean sleeping-room. He received a hospi- 
table welcome in the home of Dr. Leete, and finally be- 
came engaged to his daughter, in whom he recognized 
the great-granddaughter of his former fiancee, Edith 
Bartlett. 

.The story of this betrothal and the unexpected 
changes in the life of this new era — the latter mainly 
learned through the explanations of Dr. Leete — are re- 
lated by Mr. Bellamy's hero. 

The condition of affairs, both in society and in the 
Government, seemed to me peculiar — nay, extraordinary. 
In the path-way of peaceful development the Govern- 
ment had become in all civilized countries the pro- 
ducer of every commodity. The entire sum of capital 
had passed into its possession, and the people owned 
only what they had obtained from the State to furnish 
their homes, for food, clothing, or other uses. 

The whole laboring community, like the means of 
labor, was at the disposal of the State. An exchange 
of services between individuals no longer took place. 
Whoever desired to obtain an article or any personal 
service could secure it only at the public storehouses or 
bureaus of the Government. 

Every one was compelled to work for the State, but 
all had an equal share of the profits. All differences in 
the payment for work had ceased; the fundamental 
principle being that every individual served the com- 
munity to the best of his or her ability, and that all had 
an equal right to the goods of the world. 



m MR. Bellamy's world. 



Entire liberty in the choice of a profession was allowed 
to every person. The Government took the sole charge 
of education, gave to every one the same intellectual and 
physical training, ofEered to every one the same oppor- 
tunity for the acquisition of knowledge and of practical 
skill. The period of compulsory instruction lasted until 
the twenty-first year. At this age the young people en- 
tered upon their active life, but were first subjected to a 
season of apprenticeship, during which their superiors 
might assign them to any task, and after whose expira- 
tion each was considered qualified to choose the occupa- 
tion best suited to his tastes and inclinations. Whoever 
selected a purely intellectual avocation received instruc- 
tion gratuitously at some higher institution of learning 
until his thirtieth year. At the age of forty-five every 
citizen was released from toil, but retained his share of 
the profits of the general labor so long as he lived. 

If, owing to the free choice of professions, some oc- 
cupations which were more burdensome and difficult 
did not have a sufficient number of volunteers, a balance 
was obtained by lessening the hours of labor. 

As there was no traffic between individuals, money had 
vanished from society. The Government estimated the 
value of all productions at a fixed sum, and, at the begin- 
ning of the year, issued to all citizens credit cards, bearing 
the sum allotted to each person as his share of the profits 
of the products of the common industry. Each was en- 
titled to buy what he desired ; he showed his credit card, 
and a snip with the scissors marked the amount required 
for payment. The international traffic, carried on sole- 
ly by the governments, consisted merely of an exchange 
of goods. An international syndicate appraised these 
goods, and, by fixing their value, secured an equable set- 
tlement. These, briefly described, were the main feat- 






4 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST's EXFEBIENOES 

ures of the new order of things in society and the State. 
It was the realization of the social-democratic idea, but 
the realization had resulted in every respect for the wel- 
fare of mankind. Social life was quiet and peaceful. 
Political and social conflicts no longer existed, because 
all division of interests had ceased. Crimes became a 
rarity, because their principal incentives, avarice and 
selfishness, no longer found opportunity for action. 
Disputes arising from differences of opinion in business 
were at an end, because people no longer transacted 
business with one another. Unhappy marriages no lon- 
ger poisoned life, because marrying for money had be- 
come an impossibility, and no young girl, urged by ne- 
cessity, felt a desire to give her hand to an unloved 
husband. Casualties such as were caused by the former 
mode of traffic, lack of work in consequence of a finan- 
cial crisis, and loss of life due to inability to pay, were 
unknown ideas. As the government was administered 
in the simplest manner, and with the suppression of 
motives for quarrels between the nations armies were 
no longer maintained, the whole commercial system 
had vanished. No one now sought work in vain, in- 
dustrial production had gained a great increase of 
strength, and the Government, spite of shortening the 
time of labor several hours, found itself able to offer 
the citizens so many pleasures that scarcely one of them 
felt a desire which must remain ungratified. True, 
Julian West did not mention the value of the credit 
cards, but the glimpse of Dr. Leete's household which 
he gives the reader shows a mode of life which, in the 
last decade of the nineteenth century, could not have 
been maintained on an income of less than twelve to 
fifteen thousand marks. 

Such were the contents of this remarkable book. I 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 5 

lay down on my sofa, to fall into a restless, brooding 
reverie. One thing was evident: if the abolition of 
private property, the direction of manufacturing estab- 
lishments by, the Government, and the equalization of 
distribution afforded the means of giving the laboring 
population abundant prosperity and preserving man- 
kind from suffering and want, opposition was insolence, 
delay a crime. If such favorable conditions could be 
attained by all, the more favorable condition of the 
upper classes should offer no obstacle. But was all 
this within the bounds of possibility? Had our faulty 
world room for so much unclouded happiness ? 

Misgivings of all kinds arose in my mind, and a flood' 
of doubts surged through my brain. 

Will the employes of the Government in this social- 
istic state have the ability to perform all the business 
functions of the people with the same degree of energy 
which has hitherto resulted from the conflict of interests 
in the struggle for existence and the pursuit of gain by 
millions of individuals ? 

Will all these millions feel the same love of work 
when material interests are no longer at stake, and anx- 
iety concerning daily bread, as well as the incentive of 
profit, are unknown to them ? And will these millions 
have the consciousness of happiness and contentment 
when they no longer call anything their own and lead 
a life free from care and conflict ? 

Will strife and envy be banished with property from 
the human race ? Will an equal income abolish hatred 
and leave no opportunity for rancor and rivalry ? 

Will differences of opinion in politics and administra- 
tion cease if the Government becomes the sole manu- 
facturer and distributor of goods ? 

Will the extinction of material interests exorcise the 



6 MR. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

• 

spectres of class hatred, race hatred, and religious ha- 
tred? 

All these doubts and questions besieged my brain. 
When doubt gained the upperhand all the images of 
want and woe in the world rose before me, and while 
these cheerless visions held sway it again became uncer- 
tain whether doubt wa« justifiable. 

" The present social system, where selfishness reigns 
and constantly creates rich and poor, is a poisonous 
growth which must be eradicated," said one voice. " The 
present social system," said another, " is a work of Nat- 
ure, and the human race will perish if it leaves the 
paths the universal mother has assigned." "Wealth 
must disappear," urged one voice, " for it ceaselessly 
draws poverty like a satellite in its circles." "Wealth 
is a blessing," retorted another, " for it will crowd out 
poverty as light dispels darkness." Which are the good 
and which are the evil voices ? I strove to marshal the 
throng of contradictory thoughts in battle-array against 
each other, hoping that the sight of two well-arranged 
armies would afford a clear idea which side possessed 
the more effective weapons. But my brain was heated 
to boiling point, my blood was fairly seething, and a 
leaden weight rested on my eyelids. I tried to sleep, 
hoping to find rest, but Morpheus would not come, and 
the wild hunt of thoughts careered unchecked through 
my mind. 

I don't know whether it was owing to the heat of the 
room — and my chronic nervousness contributed its quota 
— but my condition finally grew unbearable, and I sprang 
from my sofa to seek rest and coolness in the autumn 
air. Heedless where I went, I walked down Friedrich- 
strasse, and, after a long distance, turned into Leipziger- 
strasse. The dazzling brilliancy of the electric lights 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 7 

and the crowd of vehicles and people did me good. 
True, I was not relieved from the torturing pressure on 
my brain and the heavy weight on my eyes, but my 
thoughts were diverted by the splendor of the shops 
and the bustle of the people. 

I had reached the end of the street when I suddenly 
felt a light tap on my shoulder. Turning in surprise I 
looked into the smiling face of my friend, Ferdinand 
Scherr, manager of an international banking business, 
with whom I had been in the habit of spending my 
evenings for years. 

"Why, my dear friend," he said, half jesting, half in 
earnest, " you have returned from your journey and did 
not let me know ? What has become of our agreement?" 

The question perplexed me. I had come back from 
a long trip three days before, and had not once thought 
of sending him a postal-card. I strove to falter an apol- 
ogy, but Scherr perceived ray embarrassment and laid 
his hand on my lips. 

"No matter," he said, "1 know how absent-minded 
you are, and it shall not be treasured up against you. 
But I am glad that I can give you an interesting even- 
ing." 

" An interesting evening ?" I replied, fearing that my 
heavy head and the flood of thoughts in it would not 
BufEer even the most interesting things to charm me. 

"Yes, indeed! A native East Indian called at my 
office this morning to ask for some information about 
the international bank business. As my time was very 
much occupied, and I could not give the desired ex- 
planation briefly, I made an appointment with him at a 
Vienna caf 6, and am now on my way there." 

Before he had finished these words he had seized me 
by the arm and was leading me forward. 



8 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST's EXFEBIENOES 

A few steps more and we entered a tastefully fur- 
nished, not too spacious, but very cosey restaurant. The 
guests were few ; so it was not difficult to find a quiet 
corner. 

On a comfortable divan in an alcove sat a tall, slender 
man, whose white beard and sharply-cut features indi- 
cated that his age was nearly sixty, while, spite of his 
European garb, his bronzed complexion enabled us to 
recognize the East Indian we expected. No sooner did 
he see my friend Scherr than he rose and came forward 
with a courteous bow, saying, 

" I am greatly indebted to you for taking so much 
trouble on my account, and only hope that you are not 
sacrificing too much of your valuable time." 

He spoke German fluently, but with a peculiar accent, 
and his grammar was not perfectly correct. 

"No, indeed, Herr Bemusi," Scherr answered. "I 
am entirely at your service, and will frankly admit that 
I was not wholly unselfish in choosing this hour. I trust 
it will afEord us opportunit/for better acquaintance and 
a pleasant chat. But first allow me to present an old 
friend, who is privileged to claim my evenings : Herr 
Bernusi, from India, Herr Friedrich Ost,* a worthy na- 
tive of Mecklenburg, now residing in Berlin." 

While speaking, Scherr motioned us to sit down, then 
ordered cofEee, and at once commenced to speak of the 
subject on whose account Bernusi had called upon him 
in the morning. 

The matter was settled in less than half an hour. Ber- 
nusi made a few notes in his memorandum-book, and 
seemed extremely gratified with the information ob- 
tained. 

" I thank you very much for your kindness," he said. 

*Mr. Frederick East. 



IN MB. BELTi amy's WORLD. 9 

" When I return to the East Indies with valuable aids to 
my banking business I shall owe them mainly to your 
knowledge and good-will." 

"I am greatly obliged to yoi^," replied Scherr, " and 
only hope that my information may lead to more ex- 
tended relations. If your house should feel disposed to 
continue the connections formed with Germany, our 
bank will gladly seize every opportunity of serving you." 

" I am sure of that," answered the East Indian, " and 
though at my age, and with the great distance which 
separates us, I can scarcely hope for repeated personal 
interviews, I trust I may often have the pleasure of ex- 
changing letters." 

Ferdinand Scherr smiled. 

" Unluckily, our age of electricity and steam has not 
yet wholly conquered distance. Therefore we must hold 
fast to the happy hours which afford us the pleasure of 
personal intercourse. I hope you will not refuse to be 
my guest this evening." 

Scherr summoned a waiter and ordered some fleid- 
sieck. An animated conversation ensued, as always hap- 
pens when Germans meet a scion of the ancient land of 
marvels. At first I was more silent and reserved than 
usual on such occasions, for the leaden Weight on my 
brain and the prickling sensation in my eyes rendered 
me dull and taciturn. But the fascinating topic of the 
talk, and also probably the stimulating effect of the wine, 
did not fail to exert their reviving influence. Bernusi's 
thoughtful eloquence, especially, brought me into a more 
sympathizing mood. 

He talked well, and showed a remarkable knowledge 
of all the affairs of his native land. The mode of life in 
the upper and lower classes of all the different nationali- 
ties, their customs and occupations, the condition of the 



10 MR. FREDERICK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

manufacturing population and the various agricultural 
pursuits, the trend of taste in architecture and costume, 
the wonders of the flora and the fauna, the peculiarities 
in the differences of religious faith, the connection be- 
tween the climate, social life, and creed — suflSce it to 
say that he understood how to describe everything which 
could interest us. 

He himself was a Brahmin, and in his creed showed 
that he was a man in whom intellect and religious feel- 
ing were duly balanced. 

The vivacity of the conversation made us feel better 
acquainted, and it seemed a matter of course that we 
should urge him to tell us some of the experiences of 
his life. This introduced us to a new and interesting 
sphere, for Bernusi's career had been a busy and a 
changeful one. Pursued by various blows of fate he 
had tried nearly every calling, wandered through all the 
provinces of his vast native land. I involuntarily asked 
him where he had spent his youth, and how he had laid 
the foundations of his culture. 

" In my youth," he said, " I worked on my father's 
cotton plantation in Lahore, and here the Fakir Haridas 
noticed me and asked my father to let me enter his 
service. At first he refused, but finally yielded to my 
entreaties. I ihen spent a number of years with this 
Haridas, and to his philosophical method of searching 
into the most secret things I am probably principally 
indebted for my habit of observing all phenomena." 

" Haridas, do you say ?" I interrupted. " Isn't that 
the famous fakir whose repeated burials while alive 
are still a mystery to European scholars ?" 

" Certainly, that very Haridas ; and I think it will 
probably be some time longer ere exact investigation 
will find an explanation of the manner in which a man 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 11 

can spend weeks and months in the grave without being 
either* alive or dead, and, on being brought to the air 
and light, begin by means of artificial inhalation to 
breathe and live again." 

" Have you ever witnessed such burials ?" 

" I was present when General Ventura made his much- 
discussed experiment with him. Nay, Haridas had 
stipulated that the opening of the grave should be done 
in my presence,, and that I alone should use the means 
to recall him to life." 

Bernusi now related in detail all the particulars of 
this extraordinary case. How Haridas had cut the lig- 
ament of the tongue, which rolled back, closing the 
throat; how he, Bernusi, had then carefully plugged 
the ears and nostrils, and how quickly this peculiar con- 
dition of trance had followed. How the body had then 
been placed in a chest, the chest buried, and the grave 
sown with barley, and how, forty days after, the care- 
fully-guarded grave had been opened in the presence 
of witnesses. The body was cold and rigid, but by 
means of artificial respiration and the application of 
heat the lifeless form was speedily restored to anima- 
tion. 

During this narrative Scherr had frequently looked 
at me and smiled, casting a side-glance at Bernusi, as if 
to intimate that the champagne must have got into his 
head. I did not allow myself to be vexed, but con- 
tinued to discuss the peculiarity of this trance with the 
East Indian. 

"Why, you are a queer fellow, Ost," Scherr burst 
forth at last. " I have always known you as a sceptic 
who believes nothing for which proof cannot be given, 
and here you seem to credit tales at which sensible wom- 
en would shake their heads." 



12 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST's EXPEBIEN0£S 

Bemusi looked up in surprise, but was courteous 
enough not to reply. 

My blood boiled witb anger, and I could not refrain 
from making a sharp answer. 

"I believe what I cannot help believing," I cried, 
" and where doubt is no longer possible. So long as I 
had no witnesses of the matter, I, too, was incredulous. 
But since I have heard of it from a most reliable man, 
who was present himself, I should be committing an in- 
justice were I to have the faintest disbelief. For the 
rest, we need not go to East India to learn that a body 
which lacks nothing except that it has lost the faculty 
of breathing will remain preserved from corruption if 
we keep the air from it. And, if a body remains un- 
harmed, we need only set the lungs in motion, and the 
heart begins to beat, the blood circulates, and all the 
organs resume their functions." 

" Then I suppose that in Mecklenburg you have seen 
the dead brought back to life, and buried bodies resur- 
rected? You appear to be remarkably well-informed 
to-night." 

"We are not discussing the dead, and we will let 
those who are buried rest. I merely said that, by 
excluding the air, we may preserve bodies from cor- 
ruption. You seem to think that there is nothing in 
the world save what natural philosophy has already in- 
vestigated ; but the probability is that there is an un- 
known third condition, which is neither life nor death. 
If we exclude the air from a body which is in this 
third condition, if we render it impossible for the 
oxygen of the air to unite with the carbon of the food 
and thus produce heat and corruption, I know no 
reason why the organs of such a body should not act 
again." 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 13 

Scherr had started from his chair, and was pacing up 
and down the now empty room with long strides. 

"Before talking such nonsense you would better 
blow out some old dog's vital spark and bring him 
back to life again," he said. 

"Fudge about dogs and vital sparks! I am not 
speaking of a man whose lamp of life has gone out, 
but of one who is neither dead nor alive, who is noth- 
ing but a machine that has stopped working for a few 
weeks. Set the driving-wheel in motion, and the shaft 
will turn, and so will the little wheels, and the whole 
machine will be in full running order." 

" Yet I tell you that, in spite of all your eloquence, 
you don't believe it yourself." 

" I don't believe it ? Tour circle of vision seems to 
have narrowed strangely. You once told me that grains 
of wheat, which had lain four thousand years in the 
hand of an Egyptian mummy, gave proof of their ger- 
minating power as soon as they were placed in fertile 
soil. And now you want to dispute the ability of an 
equally sound man to live again when his lungs are 
forced to breathe." 

"Nevertheless, I repeat that you don't believe it 
yourself ; and, if you desire, I'll prove the fact." 

" You'll prove it ?" 

" I'll prove it." Scherr stopped in his walk, planted 
himself in front of me, and looked down at me in a very 
condescending way. " I'll prove it, because you haven't 
courage to let yourself be put into a trance and buried." 

The words were uttered at the wrong time. We had 
already reached the seventh bottle, and the wine had 
done its work on me. My over-excited brain had lost 
the power of resisting the alcohol, and the liquor had 
only increased the pricking sensation in my eyes. This 



14 



MR. FREDERICK EASt's EXPERIENCES 



had made me irritable, and would not permit me to 
pause for calm reflection. 

" I don't know what courage it would require for the 
simplest possible matter," I answered. " Or do you con- 
sider it a misfortune to cease living a few weeks, and 
thus strengthen the nerves for a new existence?" 

" I stick to it that you haven't the courage to try ; 
that you'll take good care not to let yourself be buried." 

" And I say that it would be cowardice to fear, and I 
have no such timorousness." 

Here Bernusi interposed. The wine had gone to his 
head, too, but he retained his courteous, affable manner, 
and quietly asserted that I was perfectly right, the mat- 
ter should not be regarded as an extraordinary thing, 
and if only Scherr would help him he would gladly place 
me in this condition of trance. 

True, he observed, I had had no practice in holding 
the breath a long time, by means of which Haridas al- 
ways made the matter so easy, but if I would take the 
precaution to keep perfectly quiet for two days, restrict 
my diet to a few cups of milk, and take rhubarb regu- 
larly, he would guarantee a successful result. 

Scherr had already become inaccessible to sensible 
reasoning. He was naturally the most obliging of mor- 
tals, but wine speedily made him combative, and when 
he had once uttered a contradiction he obstinately per- 
sisted in it. 

So he insisted that it was all sheer nonsense, and that 
I should not have courage for such a venture. No mat- 
ter how much I might protest to-night that I did not 
lack bravery, he would stake his life that, at the moment 
the deed was to be done, my resolution would pitiably 
fail. 

The result was the one usual in such cases. After a 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 15 

long wrangle an agreement was made and sealed by the 
most solemn oaths. 

Scherr said that he knew a place, about an hour's ride 
from Berlin, which seemed as though it had been cre- 
ated for such an interment. It was a gravel-pit in a 
Kttle wood, where the burial could take place unnoticed 
and all traces of it could be easily effaced. He under- 
took to have the grave dug, and agreed to furnish a zinc 
chest, which appeared to him to be better than a wooden 
one. Bernusi promised to provide scissors suitable for 
cutting the ligament of the tongue, and assured us that 
he would return from a journey to England by Decem- 
ber 31st at latest, in order to superintend my recall to 
life. It was my desire to begin a new existence with 
the first hours of the New Year. 

For my part, I pledged myself to keep my room dur- 
ing the next two days, and to take nothing except milk 
and rhubarb, according to the directions given by Ber- 
nusi. On November 27th, at five o'clock in the after- 
noon, Bernusi and Scherr were to call for me. 

Scherr required Bernusi to swear solemnly that he 
would not make the slightest attempt to deter me from 
the plan. He wanted to prove that at the last moment 
I would show the white feather pitiably. 

We all three took our overcoats, for it was nearly 
morning. 

" Good-night, my boy," said Scherr, laying his hand 
on my shoulder with a significant glance. " You'll make 
yourself ridiculous enough day after to-morrow; but 
rest assured that you needn't fear being laughed at all 
your life." 

Bernusi pressed my hand and we parted, each going 
in the direction of his sleeping-room. 

I went to bed at once, and at first it seemed as though 



16 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST's EXPEBIENOES 

I should fall asleep speedily. The soothing influence 
of my potations appeared to be stronger than my rebel- 
lious nervous system. But the fumes of the alcohol 
passed away too soon, and a wild confusion of thoughts 
darted through my brain which, despite my weariness, 
robbed me of rest. 

The events of the evening, even Bemusi's interesting 
communications, were soon effaced, but Bellamy's daz- 
zling descriptions, my torturing doubts concerning them, 
the social question, and the thought of the aspirations 
and desires of the laboring classes whirled ceaselessly 
through my mind. The next night, too, sleep deserted 
me, and so, on the afternoon of the 27th, I was in a con- 
dition of nervous excitement and physical exhaustion 
which baffles description, and rendered me incapable of 
realizing the risk of my strange plan, and on what 
chances my awakening depended. I had but one desire : 
to sleep, to rest, to forget, and one thought alone had 
charms for me— the thought of oblivion. 

So it was like a sensation of deliverance when Ber- 
nusi and Scherr entered the room. A few minutes later 
we were all three seated in the carriage rolling through 
the streets. 

The conversation turned on matters which, in my 
situation, had no interest. The foggy weather of the 
past few days, the moon which rose during our drive, 
the new^ regulations in the Chamber of Deputies, etc. 

Scherr sometimes cast a watchful glance at me, but he 
could scarcely have read in the expression of my face 
any intimation whether he was to triumph or not. 

At the end of an hour the carriage stopped on the 
edge of a little wood. The moon and a lantern lighted 
us through the trees, and in a few minutes we found 
ourselves at the gravel-pit Scherr had selected. A grave 



I 



m ME. Bellamy's woeld. 17 

had been dug, and a large zinc chest stood beside it. 
No one uttered a word. Scherr constantly fixed inquir- 
ing glances on me. 

A chill ran through my veins when I saw the hole 
and the chest standing ready to receive me. But it soon 
passed away; the weight on my brain and the pricking 
sensation in my eyes left no room for any thought save 
the desire to rest and sleep. Bernusi opened my teeth 
with a small pair of pincers and put the scissors into 
my mouth. 

" Why, you are perfect children !" cried Scherr, an- 
grily ; " do you really mean — " 

It was already too late. Bemusi's scissors had done 
their work. I felt my tongue roll up, closing my throat. 
I tried to cry out, but in vain. The air in my body 
stagnated, and in a second I had ceased to think or feel. 

It was really all over with me. Did they put me in 
the coflSin and bury me? Did I lie in the grave till the 
31st of December, and was I then recalled to existence ? 
That I did come to life again I can prove by this story, 
for I have actually written it with my own hand since 
my resurrection. That I have lain in a zinc coflSn and 
in a grave has been declared to me, and even legally 
certified. But that I was among the living on the first 
of January, 1891, I could not truthfully assert. 

My old friend Scherr — and I think Bernusi also — pos- 
sessed honorable principles and a loyal heart. They 
would not have left a friend in the grave beyond the 
date of agreement, had they not been withheld from 
awakening him by some irresistible power. Perhaps 
one may have been lost on the sea-voyage and the other 
may have died of apoplexy. I have never been able to 
ascertain, and it will probably remain a mystery forever. 
But it is a fact that the 1st of January, 1891, and many, 

2 



18 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST's EXPEBIENOES 

many more New -years' Days passed over the earth 
while I lay interred in the gravel-pit. At last, however, 
the hour came when I was taken out, and since that 
time I have lived as before among good and bad people, 
and, like them, enjoy the blissful consciousness of ex- 
istence. 



IN ME. Bellamy's world, 19 



CHAPTER II. 

THE FIBST BEGINNINGS OF THE NEW LIFE. 

It was a peculiar feeling when I first opened my 
eyes with returning consciousness. A vague impression 
haunted me that I had glanced around two or three 
times before and seen people busied with me ; but the 
perception was very dim, and I could recall no particu- 
lars. 

This time it was evident that I had waked from sleep 
and was in a strange place. The apartment was moder- 
ately large ; I lay in a comfortable bed, and there were 
pieces of furniture of various kinds in the room. 

I taxed my brain to recall the past and understand the 
situation, and it was natural that my thoughts should 
revert to the last incident which had occurred. 

So I remembered that the East Indian, Bernusi, had 
thrown me into a condition of trance. The wine we 
had drunk, the fantastic tales of the East Indian fakirs, 
the nervous condition into which reading Bellamy's 
book had thrown me — all these things recurred to my 
mind. 

Then my eyes chanced to fall upon a calendar which 
hung on the wall near my bed. I saw, in large figures, 
the number 29, above which was the word " October," 
and above that, " Calendar for the year 2001." A thrill 
ran through my limbs, and I was forced to think wheth- 
er I was awake or dreaming. 



20 ME. FREDEBIOK EASt's EXPERIENOES 

My mind was still very weak, and I was hardly capa- 
ble of solving a diflSicult problem. But the enigma 
here was less perplexing than a sum in mathematics or 
a philosophical problem. The chance, I argued, that 
people will leave an old calendar hanging in a room 
cannot be reckoned among the impossibilities. Who- 
ever does not feel the necessity of hanging up a new 
calendar, at the commencement of a new year, might 
easily forget to take down the old one. It might, and 
frequently does, also happen that people omit to tear 
off a sheet each day, and therefore a wall calendar shows 
a date long since past. But it is impossible that people 
would adorn a room with the calendar of a year still in 
the distant future, for there are no such calendars, nor 
is there any object in racking one's brains about the 
days on the calendar of the future. 

In the year 1890 no calendars bearing the date of 
1895 or of 1900 will be found on the walls. But what 
if a calendar is marked 2001 ? Surely that is a certain 
proof either that the year is 2001 or that it has already 
passed. Which of these two conjectures was correct I 
cared not. I was content to know positively that I was 
not in a period prior to 2001. 

So I was in the golden age Bellamy describes. I had 
had the same fate as Julian West ; like him, I was to 
behold with my own eyes what had been denied to all 
our contemporaries. And — all my torturing doubts 
were to be solved ; I could see and test ; I should wit- 
ness for myself how men live, grow, and prosper in this 
visionary, long desired world. 

The feeling that stole over me was a happy and joy- 
ous one, but too powerful for a man who was just be- 
ginning to regain his vital energy after a death slum- 
ber of one hundred and eleven years. Weakness and 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 21 

faintness overcame me, and I soon sank into a deep 
sleep. 

How long I lay in this slumber of course I do not 
know, but I woke at a slight noise, and saw that a lady 
had cautiously entered and was approaching my bed. 
She wore a dress of the cut and color I had formerly 
seen used by deaconesses and nurses. Evidently sur- 
prised to see my eyes open, she sat down noiselessly in 
a chair by my bedside. 

" Are you really awake, Herr Ost ?" she asked, with 
a tone and look which exerted a very beneficial in- 
fluence upon me. She was one of those winning 
persons who never fail to inspire sympathy and confi- 
dence. 

"I am awake," I answered. But the sound of my 
own voice startled me. It was scarcely above a whis- 
per, but a whisper in which strange tones blended. 

Then I added that I had already begun to suspect in 
what time I was living, but could not yet understand 
where I was. 

The lady looked at me in some little perplexity. 

"All these matters are of minor importance. The 
fortunate thing is that you have waked, for it assures 
us that you will speedily gain fresh vigor. Keep very 
quiet, and you will yet have many beautiful and happy 
days of existence." 

She felt my pulse and forehead, and seemed greatly 
relieved. 

"You will probably remain under my charge for 
some time, but you shall fare Well. There are no ill- 
disposed people here." 

The words -sounded so kind and cordial that I felt 
strangely attracted towards her. I longed to answer in 
the same friendly way, but perceived that I should be 



22 MK. FBEDEBICK EAST's EXPEEIENOES 

unable to do so, and contented myself with stammering 
a few words of thanks. 

She did not let me finish. 

"Avoid all exertion, Herr Ost. According to the 
doctor's ordeiTS, you must remain perfectly quiet and 
take strengthening food, though not in large quantities. 
Probably your stomach will not resume its functions 
easily." 

Of this fact I was soon convinced. My nurse repeat- 
edly gave me a spoonful of old Tokay wine, and a cup 
of bouillon which seemed to consist of many nutritious, 
yet digestible substances ; but spite of my great hunger 
everything I ate caused some degree of uneasiness. Be- 
sides, I soon became aware of my utter weakness. All 
my limbs were clumsy and powerless, and my bones 
seemed like a machine that has long been left rusty, and 
whose parts, for lack of oil, will not move again. 

But the united exertions of the doctor, who visited me 
several times a day, and of my nurse, who with tireless 
solicitude did everything which could tend to give me 
strength and ease, relieved me in a few days from the 
feeling of total helplessness. I was soon able to spend 
a few hours daily in a wheel-chair in the garden, and 
the delightful autumn air, together with the food se- 
lected for me with the utmost care, gradually restored 
my control over my limbs. 

The more my strength increased the less restraint my 
nurse imposed upon herself. She became more com- 
municative, and soon showed no hesitation in telling me 
the whole truth in regard to my situation. I was in the 
Emperor and Empress Frederidc Institute in Berlin, and 
the day on which I first awoke was really the 29th of 
October, 2001. I had been discovered two days before 
by some workmen who were boring in the gravel-pit. 



i 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 23 

They had at first believed that they had found the vic- 
tim of a murderer, but perceiving no traces of corrup- 
tion in my body, though my clothing crumbled like 
tinder at the slightest touch, they deemed it advisable 
to summon a physician and a police oflScer. It was a 
fortunate accident that they chanced to call a doctor, 
who perhaps was the only man able to save me. He 
was a medical professor in spe, whose taste led him to in- 
vestigate the trance condition, and who had been given, 
as the subject of his graduating thesis, the task of ex- 
pounding, on the basis of the results of exact science, 
whether the accounts of the burials and revivals of fakirs, 
repeatedly received from India, were to be accepted as 
true, and how these events could be explained. The 
plugs of wax in my ears and nostrils gave the young 
physician the right clew, and when he forced my teeth 
apart, the roUed-up tongue led him to infer that the man 
who lay in the chest was not dead but in a trance. Hav- 
ing become familiar with the case through his studies, it 
had not been very diflScult to evoke some of the first 
signs of returning life. 

Nor had he remained wholly ignorant of my identity. 
A pocket-book with a metal clasp, on which was en- 
graved, " To our dear Friedrich Ost, on his 57th birth- 
day, August 8th, 1890. The three euchre partners," had 
been found in my coat. So my name was known ; and by 
this date, and a few memoranda which were still legible, 
the length of my trance could be approximately estimated. 

I felt the obligation of explaining to Sister Martha — 
my nurse had taken this name because, she said, it had 
become so dear to her while studying Bible history — 
how my trance had been produced. I did so with a 
touch of humor, for the whole affair seemed to me ex- 
tremely comical. 



24 ME. FREDEEICK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

Sister Martha, however, thought that I had been act- 
ually blasphemous in thus trifling with the life which 
God had given, and that I could not be suflSiciently grate- 
ful to my Creator for permitting me to exist again. The 
discussion of my case, however, led to the discovery of 
many points of agreement between us, and thus ren- 
dered the period of convalescence very entertaining and 
pleasant. 

Sister Martha was refined and communicative, and 
though outwardly gay, she had a grave and earnest nat- 
ure. Spite of the great difference in our ages — she was 
about twenty-four years old — she fully understood all 
my interests, and it afforded me genuine pleasure to dis- 
cuss with her everything that lay specially near my 
heart. She not only listened with sympathy, but antici- 
pated what I was going to say. Of her own affairs I as 
jet knew nothing ; and much as I would have liked to 
learn what had induced a woman with her evident vivac- 
ity and gay, fresh feelings to choose so young a profes- 
sion which exacts more self-sacrifice than any other, I 
did not venture to press her with questions, because 
when I turned the conversation to her past life she 
always appeared to shun the subject. Yet she was eager 
to have me speak of myself, and having nothing to con- 
ceal, my former existence soon lay unveiled before her. 

One day when, after the successful result of my first 
feeble effort to walk about my room, I felt assured of 
my increased strength, I was particularly inclined to en- 
ter into a more detailed conversation, and, not without 
design, turned the talk to the subject which was occu- 
pying my own mind and thoughts. I described how, 
even in childhood, my sympathies had been with the op- 
pressed and suffering rather than with the rich and 
powerful ones of the earth, and how it had always been 



\ 



IN ME. Bellamy's world. 25 

a sorrowful thought to me that the class of prosperous 
people was so small, while the paillions who were com- 
pelled to spend their lives in hard labor, amid anxieties 
and deprivations, numbered so many. 

I minutely described the dark side of the world's social 
system, the wretchedness that frequently exists in the 
immediate vicinity of wealth and splendor, and the un- 
deniable injustice of having the rich speculator pocket, 
with very little exertion, an enormous profit, while the 
laborer, from whose sweat and toil others gain wealth, 
can hardly obtain bread for himself and his family. 

While speaking I did not omit to point out the par- 
ticularly sad fact that, for want of work, so many people 
cannot possibly earn a living by honest toil — a melan- 
choly condition of affairs, whose reality is proved in a 
most pathetic way by the circumstance that the num- 
ber of crimes always lessens whenever there is an in- 
creased demand for labor. 

I then passed to my own studies of the social question, 
relating how for years it had been the main subject of 
my thoughts and investigations ; how earnestly I had en- 
deavored to understand it clearly, not only by careful ex- 
amination of all the scientific researches into the matter, 
from whatever rank in life they were made, but still 
more by thoroughly testing all the actual phenomena of 
industrial life. While thus engaged, however, I had be- 
come more and more convinced that the Government, it 
is true, can come to the rescue in individual relations by 
legal interference, but that a universal remedy for the 
ills of the social system cannot be found ; that the social 
world, like all nature, is guided by fixed laws, and that 
it would merely occasion fresh disasters if we attempted 
to ititroduce human patchwork into this great natural 
system. " The human race is not yet rich enough," I 



26 



MR. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 



concluded, " to supply every one with a well-spread board, 
and, in my opinion, the sole resource is by increased 
labor to accumulate fresh amounts of capital — ^that very 
capital to which the two extreme parties, the high tories, 
as well as the social democrats, are so bitterly hostile." 

Sister Martha had listened with the most eager atten- 
tion, and sometimes seemed very much moved when I 
spoke with increasing warmth of the need of the labor- 
ing classes. When I paused she sat in meditative silence. 

" You will now understand," I went on,'" that I could 
not help being roused to a singular mood while reading 
Bellamy's brilliant descriptions. In a no very distant 
future I found the human race delivered from want. I 
saw a time when men had ceased to battle against one an- 
other in selfish strife, when all the treasures of the earth 
would be open to every human being in rich abundance 
and in equal measures. 

"But you will also perceive that I was not wholly free 
from doubts, and that these doubts grew more unendur- 
able the less possibility I beheld of dispelling them. Our 
nerves are often our masters, and when they prick our 
limbs and commence their wild career through our brains 
we can neither control them nor our reason. Such was 
my condition on the evening I undertook this luckless 
venture. Even had I realized the folly of my conduct, 
I could not have refrained by my own strength of will." 

"Well, Herr Ost," replied Sister Martha, smiling, 
"the affair has ended happily, and I hope you won't be 
sorry to live with us people of the future. Doubtless, 
too, your nerves will be less rebellious after this long 
rest. Whether you will find with us what — ^as I suppose 
— ^you desire, time must decide." 

" If I am to be perfectly frank," I answered, " I am 
not at all dissatisfied with my fate, and would not wish 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 27 

to undo the past. I shall witness in person how human- 
ity fares in the beginning of the twenty-first century, 
and how affairs are managed in the socialistic govern- 
ment. But what induces you to put such a covert query 
to me just at the outset of my new career ?" 

"What induces me, Herr Ost? Why, I am merely 
giving utterance to my thoughts. I am only a woman, 
and shall avoid discussing with men the social system 
and the laws of nature, as you term them. Still, I, too, 
observe a little, and investigate facts as well as I can. So 
I cannot help asking myself what is to make men better 
if they are relieved from all care and struggle ? Anxie- 
ties and conflicts are a part of human life. They steel 
the strength and rouse the creative impulse ; if they are 
removed, man will soon live like the beasts, which only 
trot forward so long as they know the lash is behind. 
In former times every individul had a sense of responsi- 
bility; every man knew that work and food depended 
upon his own exertions. Now they all have a right to 
require the Government to give them what it has, and 
even though they may be under obligations to work for 
the State, the secret spur which urges them to constant 
toil is lacking." 

" Why, you are confounding the present condition of 
affairs with that t)f former times," I replied. " The com- 
plaint in the old epoch was that the day-laborer had no 
energy, no interest in his work. Nothing of all he cre- 
ated belonged to him. He toiled his allotted number of 
hours, always conscious that the stipulated amount of 
wages must be paid to him, whether he accomplished 
much or little. This, as I read Bellamy, is precisely 
where the gratifying change has occurred. The laborer 
no longer toils for others, but for himself. He knows 
that no portion of what he creates can be lost, for he 



28 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST^S EXPEBIENOES 

shares in the products of the work with all the others, 
and it can therefore be only for his advantage if, by the 
exertion of all his strength, he creates a large quantity 
of useful wares." 

"' That might be true," replied Martha, " if men were 
not men. But I, too, have some little knowledge of 
them. How useful it is for all to be inspired by genu- 
ine public spirit everybody is aware, and they can all 
make the finest speeches about it. They always promptly 
perceive any lack of it in others, too. But what if the 
matter touches their own affairs? What if they them- 
selves are to contribute to the public welfare? Then 
they see with very different eyes; then it becomes a 
fundamental principle : myself first, last, and always ; 
and everybody keenly feels that a personal profit is his 
own, while a profit to the community falls to him only 
in part and often after a long interval. We need not go 
down to the lower classes to discern this ; the educated 
classes do not differ from them. I lived for some time in 
the country near a sugar refinery. The land-owners in the 
vicinity had formed a company and built it to manufact- 
ure sugar from their beets. Strict regulations concern- 
ing the manuring, cultivation, and delivery of the beets 
were made, in order to secure the prosperity of the re- 
finery. Yet serious difficulties often arose in their exe- 
cution. The poor refinery frequently had to defend it- 
self against its own founders, and sometimes forgot that 
it had been established for the benefit of the stockholders. 
That is the way everywhere in the world. Merchants, 
manufacturers, laborers, do the same. Well as they know 
how closely their own prosperity is connected with the 
prosperity of the State, their petty individual interests 
are always the main object in view, and as a rule they 
do not think of others. If there is any sacrifice of 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 29 

strength, effort, and toil, the majority quietly retire into 
the background. Men do not readily relinquish their be- 
loved ease, and everybody prefers to let some one else 
labor." 

All this was certainly undeniably true, and it vexed 
me a little that I needed to be told what I had so often 
noticed on both a large and a small scale. So I was less 
disposed to yield the point easily. I was not yet con- 
vinced that, in a country where no conflict of interests 
exists, and in which the labor of the nation is organized 
in such a military manner as Mr. Bellamy describes, 
public spirit cannot be developed to a suflScient degree 
to sweep away in the general current the innate laziness 
and indifference of individuals. 

" You may be right in general," I replied, " but you 
overlook that — as I have read in Lookmg Backward — 
military discipline awakens universal emulation, and that 
no one sees any other object in labor than the promo- 
tion of his own welfare. For the rest, you must explain 
why the workman of former days should have felt a 
stronger stimulus than at the present time. He was 
then merely a day-laborer, and had no interest save to 
get through the hours of the day." 

"Prior to this great revolution," Sister Martha an- 
swered, " the laborer, in a certain sense, was a respon- 
sible man, and now he has nothing in the world for 
which he is answerable to God. In the old days he had 
himself, his wife, and his children to support, or, if 
young, he had to provide the means of establishing a 
home in the future. True, many took this anxiety about 
wife, child, and future too lightly, and thus fell into 
want or went to ruin, but the vast majority did their 
duty in this respect more or less successfully, and if the 
workman, in his character of day-laborer, felt no special 



80 MB. FBEDEBIOE EASX's EXFEBIENOBS 

desire to be iuduBtrious and skilful, this anxiety forced 
him to accomplish enough to have his work deemed 
worthy of wages. Had he done less he would have lost 
his place, and with it the means of existence. What, on 
the contrary, is the position of the modem laborer? 
His children give him no anxiety whatever; while 
they are young the State maintains and provides for 
them, and when they are grown to maturity they receive 
the same share of the world's goods as he. His wife 
cannot plunge him into expense ; she finds no sphere of 
activity in her home, for her children are removed from 
her care, and there is no work in the kitchen or cellar, 
because the public dining-rooms provide for the suste- 
nance of the body. If the wife is not in a Government 
institution, on account of having an infant to nurse, she 
toils and receives the same amount of the common prof- 
its as every one else. How is a man to see in labor 
aught save a source of trouble, a thing which is repul- 
sive to him ? He may say to himself that he must work 
in order to receive his portion, but to put any special 
strain on his muscles and sinews must appear to him 
great folly. If he does not satisfy his superiors he can 
be transferred from one kind of labor to another, but 
he cannot be deprived of the knowledge that always and 
everywhere he will receive precisely the same compen- 
sation as the most talented, skilful, capable, and indus- 
trious workers. No, Herr Ost, scientists may say what 
they choose ; I insist that man needs a stronger motive 
if he is to become a useful member of society. Extirpate 
the family feeling, remove all sense of responsibility and 
care, and you rob him of just what makes toil, spite of 
its weariness, dear and pleasant. Public spirit alone can- 
not give him lasting enjoyment in production, least of 
all production for a community which has deprived him 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 31 

of all for which the loftiest impulses of his nature 
yearn." 

I could find no weighty argument in reply to these 
words. One of the doubts which had assailed me while 
reading Mr. Bellamy's book was that the workmen of 
the socialistic State could find no sufficient incentive to 
labor, and while unable to prove the contrary from my 
own observation, any discussion on this point would 
have been folly. One thing, however, in Sister Martha's 
disclosures was new to me — that the maintenance of the 
children was the charge of the State. I had not found 
this fact positively stated in Looking Bachward. True, 
I remembered having read in Bebel's writings the sug- 
gestion that women should remain in public institutions 
during the time that they were nursing their children, 
and that all the expenses of education, clothing, and 
food should be defrayed by the State ; but this point was 
not explicitly mentioned in Dr. Leete's communications. 
It needed no special reflection to convince me that this 
care of the children by the State must be the funda- 
mental principle of the socialistic system. If the charge 
of the children was left to the parents, the principle of 
equality would henceforth have a vast gap, for a couple 
with three or four children would be three or four times 
worse off than childless couples or bachelors and spin- 
sters. 

In reply to my question, Sister Martha said that the 
children were taken from their parents, and that this, in 
her eyes, was the sorest spot in the modern world. The 
family was the strongest bond which united society; 
since this bond was sundered, parents as well as children 
had been deprived of their most valuable possession and 
moral support. 

"On this point," she remarked, "I can speak some- 



32 MB. FBEDEBIOK HASt's EXPEBIENOES 

what from experience, and if you did not still need to 
be spared emotion I could tell you things which would 
deeply stir you* Here in this house, as well as formerly 
in the children's asylum, I have often witnessed how 
cruel it is to rob parents of what is the source of their 
deepest happiness. Whether it is a gain for the human 
race, whether it elevates morality and strengthens order 
for people to find a void in their homes, to be driven 
from their own houses to seek in the amusements of the 
world compensation for what the heart lias lost, are 
questions which you yourself can answer, and you will 
find ample opportunity to judge." 

I felt not a little disturbed by all that had been said. 
It was, as has been mentioned, a point of which I had not 
thought, but whose importance to the social life of the 
new State I could not undervalue. This touched a point 
whose moral importance could not be without influence 
upon the development of the nation in the line of its 
industrial work, and I saw many things rendered ques- 
tionable which, while reading Mr. Bellamy's descriptions, 
spite of all my doubts, I had considered a gain to man- 
kind. 

Yet the author of Looking Bachwa/rd had described 
the advantages of the new government as being specially 
valuable to the cause of morality. Dr. Leete and his 
daughter had both been so full of its praises, had de- 
scribed so eloquently how greatly the happy transforma- 
tion in social life had elevated and ennobled humanity, 
that Julian West could scarcely find courage to sue for 
the hand of the favored daughter of such a period of 
Paradise. 

Was it not conceivable that more was gained on the 
one hand than could be lost on the other? Might not 
the injuries sustained by the loss of family life have 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 33 

found abundant compensation in the ennobling power 
of a social existence devoid of all the pangs of care and 
struggle, want and misery, envy and jealousy, malice 
and dissension ? Might not the preference for family 
affection and family cares, which Sister Martha and I 
cherished, be a hereditary prejudice, which rendered us 
incapable of doing full justice to the superior advantages 
of other incentives? 

I had intended to enter the new life with an unpreju- 
diced mind; not to allow myself to be influenced by 
individual phenomena, but to form my opinion solely 
from the total result. It seemed to me that the value 
of a system with which I was still unfamiliar should not 
be sought in what one considers superfluous and another 
valuable and necessary, but only in the advantages or 
disadvantages which the nation as a whole, reaps from 
the changed conditions. 

These lights and shadows, I thought, must be most 
clearly seen in the results of the national industry. So 
I lost inclination to follow the thread of the conversa- 
tion, and only felt an increasing desire to plunge with 
strength and vigor into the whirlpool of life. 

But there was a powerful obstacle to this desire. After 
the long rest of the grave, my mind had recovered tone 
far more rapidly than my body. Despite my gain in 
strength, I was still too weak to make the least demand 
upon my physical powers, and I did not conceal from 
myself that I must remain for some time in the seclusion 
of my present refuge. And if, at last, the day of deliv- 
erance dawned, what would happen then ? 

The consciousness of utter helplessness weighed upon 
me like a mountain. I had reached an age when it is 
no longer an easy matter to commence unfamiliar work. 
My muscles were unaccustomed to manual labor, and 

8 



34 MS. fbedebioe: east's expebienoes 

I could not suppose that my knowledge would be suf- 
ficient for any intellectual pursuit in a time of such 
progress. 

These thoughts weighed on my mind, and an eager 
conversation about them ensued between Sister Martha 
and myself. Suggestions of all kinds were made and 
rejected. Put, as usual in such consultations, the ex- 
change of ideas and the consideration of chances finally 
led to a useful plan, and Sister Martha's practical in- 
telligence contributed no small share to its development. 

The Government would have no interest in requiring 
me to work beyond my strength. It would be glad to 
.ofEer me first some occupation that could be followed 
without close familiarity with the new condition of af- 
fairs, and tjime would show in what branch of the ad- 
ministrative or book-keeping department it would be 
best to employ me permanently. The first thing was 
to find some person who could throw sufficient influ- 
ence into the scale, and, at the same time, be benevolent 
enough to find the scion of a distant past a comfortable 
position in the modern world. This person Sister Mar- 
tha thought she knew in the Chief of the Bureau of 
Statistics, a life-long friend of her dead father, who was 
very fond of her and would take the utmost interest iu 
my fate. Sister Martha promised to write to him the 
very next day, and assured me of her confidence that 
she should soon have a satisfactory answer. 

So my most oppressive anxiety promised to be speed- 
ily relieved. The struggle with ennui and the uncon- 
querable desire to get a glimpse of the outer world still 
remained. In this case it was I, not Sister Martha, who 
had the happy thought. I said to myself that if people 
now, in the year 2001, desired to have a truthful picture 
of the civilization of the year 1890, they need only take 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 35 

the newspapers of that period to behold the life of the 
nation in joy and sorrow, in its material and intellectual 
pleasures, in its political and religious aspirations, in art 
and in science. 

Ought not the survivor of a distant age to find a 
similar mirror in the newspapers of the present time? 
True, liberty of the press must be the basis of this sup- 
position, and this appeared to me doubtful at a time 
when all the capital invested in type, machines, and 
paper, as well as all the manual work, is at the disposal 
of the Government. Still, the attempt might be made, 
and I told Sister Martha my project. She thought a 
sight of the daily papers would be a pleasant pastime 
for me, and undertook to obtain enough to cover several 
years. 

So my mind was at rest ; and this first day of return- 
ing vital energy closed with bright prospects. Sister 
Martha took leave of me, and I sought my couch, look- 
ing forward with interest and excitement to the morrow. 



36 MB. FBEDEBIGK EAST's EXFEBIENGES 



. / 

CHAPTER m. 

HOW SOCIALISTIC LIFE APPEARS IN THE NEWSPAPERS. 

While I was breakfasting the following morning 
Sister Martha sent me a large basket filled with news- 
papers, but informed me that the files were not so com- 
plete as she would have desired. 

What did I care, however, whether I had the num- 
bers in regular order or not ? I wanted to obtain a gen- 
eral picture of the times, not to write a history, and was 
satisfied to find a useful occupation for several days. 

My first task was to introduce a certain degree of 
system into my studies. 

I divided my work into separate portions, intending 
to examine each one separately, in-order not to be con- 
fused by the variety of subjects. 

My first was to be the advertisements, from which I 
expected to learn the details of business life. Letters 
and communications from the diflEerent cities would 
open a view of governmental and communal work ; and 
from the longer articles on special subjects and ques- 
tions of the day I hoped to gairt a tolerably accurate 
standard by which to measure the light and dark sides 
of the current of the times. Foreign politics and the 
affairs of foreign countries had no great interest for me, 
and would not divert my attention from my investiga- 
tions. 

So I turned first to the advertisements, which in the 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 37 

past had often wearied me, but were now of great im- 
portance, and instantly noted that there were not yearly 
as many as in the papers of the nineteenth century. 
The only similarity I found was in the notices of births, 
deaths, betrothals, and marriages. These are events 
which the human race cannot escape, let the world move 
under lucky or unlucky stars. 

On the other hand, there were no commercial an- 
nouncements, entries in the municipal register, mort- 
gages of real estate, notices of bankruptcy, and similar 
matters. Nothing could be more intelligible to me, for 
in an age when the Government is the sole employer, 
commercial enterprises are not allowable, real estate 
cannot be pledged, and where property and ownership 
are unknown ideas, the powers of adversity have lost 
their influence over the prosperity of mankind ; market 
and stock reports must vanish, too, since the price of 
every article is fixed by Government oflScials. I found 
advertisements in almost every paper, but their scope 
and variety were considerably limited. Invitations to 
subscribe for stock, offers of loans, and requests for 
money could find no place in a country where no one is 
in the pleasant position of loaning capital, or in the dis- 
agreeable one of needing money. 

There were no advertisements of widows seeking the 
position of house-keeper, of capable cooks, house-maids, 
and chamber-maids, of commercial clerks and stewards, 
tutors and governesses, laundresses and seamstresses, 
journeymen and apprentices, day -laborers and grooms. 
Nor did I find any advertisements from employers. No 
machinists, shoemakers, tailors, brickmakers, confection- 
ers, or dress-makers were offered work. All this was 
the natural consequence of the socialistic system of pro- 
duction. The Government, as an employer, does not 



38 ME. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

need to solicit, but can command, and the workman out 
of employment may deem it more advisable to be sought 
than to make himself conspicuous. 

That houses and landed estates would not be offered 
for sale was as much a matter of course as that no one 
would be sought to lease farms. 

The Government could not sell lands and houses, be- 
cause the individual was not allowed to own any prop- 
erty, and he could be only a steward, not a lessee, be- 
cause the principle of equality permitted no independ- 
ent enterprise. 

But what I found in the advertisements interested 
me far more than what I missed. Even in the social- 
istic community they were numerous enough. The 
Government, as sole producer, was also the sole seller, 
and the obligations which, in by-gone days, imposed la- 
bor and trouble upon the commercial community now 
burdened its shoulders with the same weight. 

It must convey to the consumer what it had created ; 
it must not let perishable commodities spoil; it must 
seek in the West or the South a sale for articles not 
wanted in the North. Nay, it could not even be too 
particular in appraising its wares, for the whole success 
of the national industry depended upon the rapidity of 
the sale. Any failure there meant waste of power, and 
waste of power lost the people some enjoyment which 
would haye been procured by a different use of the 
squandered force. 

The nation's opinion of the administration of affairs 
was based upon the number of pleasures procured by 
the productions of the Government, and on this opinion 
depended the strength and power of the State. Now, as 
ever, the advertisement was a welcome and indispensable 
means of finding the right customer for every product. 



IN MR. BELLAlVrr's WOBLD. 39 

So I could not wonder that I found notices of goods 
in every paper and every number. There were not so 
many columns filled with advertisements as I had been 
in the habit of seeing, because there was only one seller 
instead of many; but the number of articles oflEered was 
scarcely less. Buckskins, cloth, and winter overcoats, 
flannel, and cashmere, were advertised in the autumn ; 
thin woolen stuflfa, sacks, summer overcoats, calico, and 
muslin in the spring ; oranges in the winter, herrings in 
summer, marchpane and gingerbread towards Christmas, 
oysters in the months with an B, and crabs in the months 
without. For the large cities the finer grades of shoes 
were advertised, in country districts the coarser ones ; in 
regions near the coast seamen's outfits, in mountainous 
neighborhoods mountaineers' clothing. 

Nor was there any lack of cheap wares; for those who 
had expensive tastes in some directions were glad to save 
in others by the purchase of delayed, unfashionable, or 
shop-worn goods. One of my special aims was to seek in 
the value of the merchandise advertised some indication 
of the prosperity of the population, but I could form no 
definite opinion on this point. True, I found no very 
expensive wares, and my eyes mainly fell on articles in- 
tended for no very exacting requirements; but I did not 
lose sight of the possibility that the Government, with 
wise solicitude for simplicity of customs, did not wish 
to awaken a desire for articles of luxury. Yet I was 
surprised to find so many announcements which could 
not fail to lead to the conclusion that the Government 
was endeavoring to diffuse coai*se pleasures as widely as 
possible. 

Though the higher class of plays and the best music 
were supplied in the larger cities, I was amazed by the 
too frequent notices of performances by buffoons of all 



40 MB. FREDEEIOK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

kinds, singers of ballads and ditties, etc. Alcoholic 
drinks, especially stomach bitters with new names and 
new qualities, I found advertised far more frequently 
than augured well for the health of the nation. Could 
economical motives have been the incentive here, since 
moral considerations were evidently not regarded ? Tal- 
ents of a lower order, of course, exist in countless num- 
bers among all nations, and it may not be easy to make 
them all useful in civil occupations. Perhaps the 
Government started with the idea that the main wis- 
dom of political economy was contained in the funda- 
mental principle of applying every power to those 
things in which they could accomplish most. 

This opinion might not be so completely mistaken. 
It is difficult to make all these third and fourth rate 
geniuses devote themselves to useful work ; but if they 
are allowed to display their talents to men, they will 
show tireless energy and great industry. On the other 
hand, there are always numbers of people who like to 
witness the performances of such artists. If they are 
oflEered many pleasures of this kind they will be satisfied, 
and in the same proportion in which the value of their 
credit cards is diminished by the cost of the perform- 
ances, their demand for other things obtained by the pro- 
duction of the Government will be lessened. Light- 
ening of labor and decrease of antagonism would be the 
pleasant result. The same object would be attained by 
affording an unlimited supply of drink and dancing. 
To make a very popular liquor from very ordinary 
brandy by adding essences, though persons of finer taste 
may be dissatisfied, requires no great expenditure of 
labor, and many people are far more ready to play 
dance music than to undertake tasks requiring skill and 
strength. People who find their amusement in danc- 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 41 

ing and drinking brandy get no opportunity for adverse 
criticism, and are easily supported by a government 
whose most difficult task is the rational employment of 
the industrial army. 

Though aware that all this was little more than an 
unproved conjecture, it seemed to find confirmation in 
the great number of advertisements of apartments which 
I read in the papers of all the cities. I had not imag- 
ined that in a social democratic State the allotment of 
residences could be a matter of speculation. I had sup- 
posed that the Government would assign the more com- 
modious or better-situated apartments according to sen- 
iority, or as a reward for special industry or special zeal, 
while the more remote or less convenient dwellings 
would be occupied by younger or less distinguished 
people. 

But a glance at the numerous advertisements could 
not fail to convince me that I had been mistaken. 

Evidently the purpose of the Government was to rent 
fine vacant rooms again at a high price as quickly as 
possible, and let the less valuable ones remain empty. 
This was in harmony with its interests. Any one who 
paid a large amount for rental out of the income secured 
by the credit cards would have just so much less for the 
purchase of other necessaries, and therefore would be 
compelled to restrict his demands upon the products of 
the national labor. 

The houses once owned by the State required no more 
labor. But, as the very people who have a taste for fine 
houses are also admirers of the articles whose manufact- 
ure requires much skill, care, and labor, handsome quar- 
ters would also curtail the most burdensome demands in 
other directions. Therefore, houses that commanded a 
high price would be cheap to the State, and cheap ones, 



42 MB. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

on the other hand, would be dear. Still, as has been said, 
I had not yet the slightest proof of these conjectures, 
and was forced to leave them uncertain. 

Among the impressions made by the advertisements I 
could only regard as reliable the fact that the distribu- 
tion of products, which was formerly the task of the 
commercial classes, was also an important branch of 
activity in the social democratic Government ; that the 
latter, though sole producer, could not avoid the good 
or even the doubtful practices of the merchant, and this 
not so much for the purpose of increasing the amount 
of the sales — which in former days was the main purpose 
of commercial activity — as to prevent public demands 
upon production from passing the bounds of cheapness 
and moderation. 

At the same time I compared the contents and extent 
of the advertisements of the socialistic Government with 
the far more comprehensive picture I retained of the 
advertisements of my own past, whose manifold variety 
reflected like a mirror the struggle and haste of the 
times, the pressure for prosress and improvement, the 
search for labor and occupation, the whole rivalry of 
contending powers, and the belief seemed to me abso- 
lutely free from doubt that the incitement to progress 
contained in this very struggle could not exist in the 
social democratic State. I found, however, a much 
greater rivalry when I entered the sphere of local re- 
ports. To the best of my recollection, I had always 
obtained from the reports of the different cities the im- 
pression that the actual construction of public institu- 
tions and improvements had not kept pace with the 
public demand for them ; that a checking, restraining 
power had everywhere been busy in maintaining a cer- 
tain stability of existing relations. I had found but a 



IN MR. Bellamy's wobld. 43 

single explanation of this phenomenon — that the ex- 
pense of the arrangements would be an obstacle, and that 
the Government oflScials, the magistrates, and city coun- 
cilmen, who had to estimate the costs, from a very natu- 
ral fear of increased taxes or too large an addition to 
the burden of debt, did not always show the greatest 
consideration for the wishes of the public. 

In the social democratic State a total change had oc- 
curred. There was not a city in Germany whose mag- 
istracy did not show the utmost public spirit. All 
scruples and pecuniary considerations seemed to have 
vanished with the disappearance of money, which had 
formerly played so important and not always encourag- 
ing a part. Notices of important projects came from 
all quarters. A report from one city announced that 
the magistracy and representative citizens had resolved 
to transform a wood two miles distant into a large park 
with fountains, and build a double-gauge road to it. From 
another came tidings that, in consequence of a resolution 
of the authorities, all the manufactories were to be torn 
down and replaced with new ones of twice the size and 
furnished with model hygienic arrangements. From a 
third, a farming town hitherto much neglected, news 
was received of an agreement to pave all the streets with 
asphalt and supply them with convenient sidewalks. 

A little town of 3000 inhabitants was rejoicing over 
the determination of the authorities to conduct into the 
place the water of an especially fine spring from a mount- 
ain twenty miles away, and supply every story in the 
houses with this excellent water. 

And so continued the announcement of all the vari- 
ous noble plans, which in the space of a year probably 
numbered a thousand. Evidently communal efforts 
were no longer directed as much as before to the en- 



44: MR. FEEDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

couragement of traffic and manufactures — probably in 
the socialistic Government the inhabitants lacked per- 
sonal interest in them — but more to institutions for 
comfort and pleasure, and I could see only too distinctly 
how much remains to be done in order to make the 
earth agreeable to all its inhabitants. 

I could not have failed to perceive in this respect one 
advantage of the socialistic system — for what can be more 
delightful than to have mankind set the refinements of 
life above the pursuit of money? — had I not unfortu- 
nately noted that here also individual interest was the 
main -spring, and that on all sides wishes had been 
uttered whose fulfilment would have been prejudicial 
to the community. But since these desires were objec- 
tionable they would not be carried out, and as I could 
not fail to notice, from other local communications, the 
government of the empire seemed to have usually put a 
quietus on the local patriotism of the city magistrates. 

I was led to this conjecture by the perception that I 
read a great deal about resolutions passed, but very little 
of completed enterprises. On the contrary, apart from 
these ideas and plans, I found nothing in the local re- 
ports concerning communal affairs, save loud complaints 
of gross neglect and violent attacks upon the central 
Government. 

"It was a crying injustice," some one wrote from 
Laage, " that the workmen needed for repaving the streets 
had not been sent, while in Tessin, close by, all the pave- 
ments had been repaired in the most careful manner." 

" One can scarcely regard it as a memorial of equal 
justice," lamented a correspondent from Neukalen, " that 
for years our city has vainly asked for electric light, 
while Dargun had it even in the old days." 

" It is exasperating," wrote some one from Frankfort- 



m MB. Bellamy's world. 45 

on-the-Main, " that everybody who doesn't live in Berlin 
ranks nowadays as a second-rate German. New palaces, 
pleasure-grounds, and parks appear every year in the 
sacred capital, while our historic old city, with its large 
foreign trade and favorable situation, cannot get the 
simplest improvements, and the constant diminution of 
the force of laborers in the municipal service is bring- 
ing everything to ruin." 

"Our city," came on the other hand from Berlin, "has 
for centuries, through the care of its magistrates, enjoyed 
the best repute ; but since the use of the industrial force 
of the whole community has been placed at the dis- 
posal of the central Government even the most pressing 
needs are no longer supplied. No matter what our city 
authorities ask, the usual nonpossumus invariably meets 
them." 

" If we but had our former system of management," 
wrote some one from little Lychen, " our town would long 
ago have built a hospital, instead of having our sick die 
in the present old barrack. But under the socialistic 
rule our masons no longer seem to be available for our 
own buildings." 

" The 5000 workmen employed on our harbor," wrote 
an indignant correspondent from Lubeck, " were yester- 
day ordered by a telegram from Berlin to aid in har- 
vesting, and our seamen's hopes seem to be again de- 
stroyed for this year. This sacrifice would be willingly 
made for the general good did it not become more and 
more evident that the central Government lacked proper 
energy in its demands upon the rural laborers." 

Reading all these local reports — of which only a small 
number can be given here — was by no means reassuring. 

They completely destroyed the picture Mr. Bellamy's 
descriptions had created. Instead of the brilliant pros- 



46 MK. feedebick: east's expeeiences 

perity which Julian West had witnessed in Boston, and 
which, according to Dr. Leete's explanations, must be 
supposed to be progressing everywhere, 1 found nothing 
but universal discontent expressed in the newspapers. 
I could not help believing it impossible that such a 
mood would exist without the least occasion for it. But 
might not the dissatisfaction perhaps originate in extrav- 
agant demands? Might not the great wealth so sud- 
denly diffused everywhere, the pleasure-grounds and 
arrangements for the comfort and amusement of the 
public so rapidly created, have awakened insatiable de^ 
sires whose demands upon the industry of the Govern- 
ment were beyond human power to fulfil? To obtain 
any clear understanding of the true state of affairs, 
while in my sick-room, seemed to me impossible. As 
yet I had seen nothing of the new world, and could not 
personally test a single case. The only way of solving 
the enigma which suggested itself was to bring one's 
individual intelligence to bear upon it, and judgment 
often deserte ns when we are far away from the facts. 
What I succeeded in comprehending, by dint of pure 
reasoning, ran nearly as follows : 

So long as property had been the fundamental basis 
of the social system, every city, every community, had 
to provide for itself according to the extent of its means. 
With the transfer of property to the Government, and 
the legal recognition of the material equality of all men, 
the property of communities had vanished, for otherwise 
residents of poorer places would have been at a great 
disadvantage in comparison with residents of richer ones. 

Communal arrangements, therefore, could be made 
only by the Government, as the sole holder of capital 
and the dispenser of the common production. As the 
aspirations and wishes of the various communities could 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 47 

be gratified only with the consent and by the direct or- 
der of the Government, the communities had announced 
what the magistrates and committees of citizens had 
considered necessary or desirable, and the Government, 
by its estimates, had to determine, according to the 
means at its disposal, which of these demands could be 
granted and which could not. As the task of creating, 
with the labor at its command, everything that was 
necessary, useful, and pleasant, had now devolved upoiji 
the Government, while its powers of production were 
limited by the capacity, and probably the good-will, of the 
workers, it was compelled, like any worthy father of a 
family, to separate the necessary from the useful and 
the useful from the pleasant, making the first outrank 
the second and the second the third. 

According to the nature of men and magistrates, 
which has undergone no change since the beginning of 
the world, it may be supposed that both have desired 
not only the necessary and the useful things, but also 
the pleasant ones, so that complete harmony of opinion 
concerning the boundary between what was necessary, 
useful, or pleasant, did not always exist. 

It is also to be supposed that men in general regard 
those things which each individual deems necessary for 
his personal wants, or even agreeable, as more import- 
ant and urgent — at least it was so under the natural or- 
der of the world — than what is merely useful to the 
whole body of inhabitants. If all these propositions 
are true — and I don't know what objection could be 
raised to them — the organs of the socialistic Govern- 
ment must fulfil their task in such a manner that, in the 
first place, the wishes of the people proceeding from 
personal inclination are gratified, while maintaining due 
regard for what individuals demand without considera- 



48 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST's EXFEBIENOES 

tion for others. This is the only way in which deep- 
seated dissension in the nation can be avoided. Secondly, 
the protection and perfecting of agriculture, manufact- 
uring establishments, implements of labor, etc., must be 
considered — otherwise there would be danger that, with 
the growth of the population, not even personal wants 
could be satisfied ; and, thirdly, care must be taken to 
grant, as far as possible, all the manifold demands for 
the comfort and pleasure of the inhabitants made by the 
various communities all over the empire. If a Govern- 
ment can satisfactorily perform this third task also, it 
will be a sure indication that it stands at the summit of 
the socialistic idea. 

This token I had unfortunately failed to find in any 
of the newspaper reports. Nay, the advertisements, as I 
have remarked, led to the supposition that the State en- 
countered diflSiculties in dealing even with the first prob- 
lem. But as yet I had no certain proofs — nor could I 
judge from facts — whether the cause was the momentous 
one that the productive power of society had lessened. 
Sister Martha had made this assertion, and had had good 
reasons for doing so, but I could not accept Sister Mar- 
tha as an authority. 

Under such circumstances, I determined not to let my- 
self be fretted just now, but to quietly await what the 
near future would bring. Above all, I struggled against 
allowing the slightest prejudice against Julian West or 
Dr. Leete to enter my mind. 

Continuing my studies, I directed my investigation 
towards another point, which is of extreme importance 
in any mode of developing society. I turned to the re- 
ports of crimes and misdemeanors. Here, however, I 
could not help ascertaining that Julian West had been 
misinformed by his authority. Dr. Leete had asserted 



IN MB. BELLAMT^S WOBLD. 49 

that offences connected with property could not exist 
in a country where all men had an ample and equal in- 
come ; yet I found a number of such misdeeds. True, 
thefts of money or of valuable papers had become an 
impossibility, since both had ceased to exist ; but other 
things were stolen as frequently as ever before in the 
history of the world. One lady had been robbed of a 
silk gown which she had just bought in the bazaar. Oth- 
ers had lost jewels, shawls, gloves, or fans. Artificial 
flowers, veils, or handkerchiefs had often been the cor- 
pus delicti. 

Intentional exchanges of overcoats and hats or um- 
brellas in restaurants or beer-gardens were complained 
of in all the towns. Nay, even robberies were not in- 
frequent occurrences. Persons carrying home bread 
from the bake-shops or sausages from the butcher's were 
but too often robbed of their property. Sometimes they 
were knocked down, sometimes snu£E was flung into 
their eyes, sometimes disguised men had snatched the 
articles from their owner's hands and darted off at the 
top of their speed. In this respect I could perceive a 
difference from the state of affairs I remembered of old 
in one detail only. These offences did not occur with the 
same uniformity in point of time, but the greater num- 
ber of cases happened in the months just before the 
credit cards Were issued. So the cause probably lay 
mainly in the lack of thrift of many persons who, by 
premature exhaustion of their funds, were plunged into 
extreme want. 

The article most frequently stolen was the credit card, 
and this very thing had for years given rise to the most 
extensive discussion in the organs of the police authori- 
ties and of the Government, as well as by the general 
public. So far as I could gather from the odd numbers 

4 



50 MR. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

of the newspapers at my disposal, the state of affairs was 
somewhat as follows : 

Directly after the establishment of the new form of 
government, frequent announcements of lost credit cards 
were made. The Government then, by proclamation in 
all the papers, promptly declared them worthless, and 
provided the losers with fresh cards marked "dupli- 
cates " for the remaining time. But the nearer the end 
of the year approached, the more the loss of credit cards 
resembled an epidemic. The Government clearly per- 
ceived that the ^vil lay deeper than the mere loss of 
the credit cards, and found itself compelled to issue a 
general warning, coupled with the formal statement that 
henceforward no substitutes for lost credit cards would 
be issued. This declaration was received by one portion 
of the nation with approval, by another with loud lam- 
entations. The Government, said some, had no right 
to withhold from a single citizen his lawful share of the 
profits of the general industry; it would be contrary 
to the fundamental idea of the socialistic government. 
If a person lost his credit card it was a misfortune that 
might befall anybody. But this misfortune of individ- 
uals ought never to be made the cause of releasing the 
Government from its first and most sacred duty. Meet- 
ings were called, speeches made, resolutions passed. 
Whoever spoke in favor of compensation for the lost 
credit cards was hailed with applause, the others were 
hissed down ; and since it had been noticed that the Jews 
had usually made careful use of their credit cards and 
did not commonly lose them, the hissing was mingled 
with shouts of " Jews !" and "Jew-mates !" When, how- 
ever, the people found that the Government firmly ad- 
hered to its point, a compromise was proposed. 

The matter in every instance was to be proved, and 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 51 

the Government could only be called upon to supply 
a new credit card where ample proof was furnished. 
But as a loser was rarely able to verify by witnesses 
the manner in which he had lost his card, he was obliged, 
as soon as he communicated the fact, to take a solemn 
oath, after serious warning. If he took this oath, the 
proof was always considered to be furnished. This sug- 
gestion was at first very coolly received, and perhaps 
might have met with the fate of passing unheeded into 
oblivion had not a very- influential society supported it. 
This was the Society for the Moral and Physical Wel- 
fare of the Nation, as it called itself. It had dissem- 
inated, by means of millions of handbills, the statement 
that it seemed necessary to bring the human race to a 
consciousness of the moral height to which the new or- 
der of things had raised it. With the destruction of the 
system of robbery and the abolition of capital man had 
been freed from slavery, and it would be a crime against 
a rescued world to attribute a base action to a free man. 
So long as the desire for gold and property poisoned 
men's hearts, reliance upon an oath would have been 
a dangerous venture, but to the true children of social 
democracy every scruple of this sort was an insult. So 
the people must unanimously urge upon the State to 
fulfil, by the aid of administering the oath, its duty 
to those who lost their cards. ' 

These lofty words produced a powerful impression, and 
it is difficult to foresee what might have happened had 
not an event occurred which stands alone in the history 
of the human race. Something befell which had never 
chanced before, and probably will never be repeated, 
even in the most distant future. Under the stress of 
the peril threatening justice and honesty, all the churches 
and religious sects had banded together for a common 



52 MB. FBEDEBIOK EASt's EXPEBIBNOES 

object. The lights -of the faith had flocked from all 
parts of the country, and, letting the battle-axe of hatred 
rest for a time, made common cause with one another, so 
that the world, to its amazement, had the spectacle of 
beholding Catholics and Protestants, Lutherans and mem- 
bers of the Reformed Church, leave the meetings in the 
utmost harmony ; nay, the pugnacious leader of the or- 
thodox party — he was known as a second Stocker or 
third Luther — was seen walking arm in arm with the 
chief rabbi in the street. 

The meetings had the best result, and a brilliant depu- 
tation, in which all dogmas and forms of faith were rep- 
resented, had presented to the chancellor of the empire, 
in the name of religion and faith in God, a petition to 
protect society from a measure whose inevitable result 
would be the destruction of faith and piety. The spec- 
tacle of harmony from a source whence people had been 
accustomed to behold the germs of discord had produced 
so powerful an impression that the Government obtained 
tte strengthening necessary to retain the resolution that 
no compensation would be given for lost credit cards. 

But the luckless credit card was not yet permitted to 
rest. Though the possibility of wresting an increased 
amount of credit from the State must be abandoned, the 
people now sought aid by requesting advances for the 
coming year. Petitions by thousands poured in from 
the unlucky mortals who had sinned against the rules of 
economy and reached the end of their resources at too 
early a date. Not a single individual lacked cogent rea- 
sons. Unusual household expenses, accidents in travel- 
ling, loss of provisions and clothing by dampness, fire in 
the house, lack of durability of materials used in gar- 
ments or shoes, hard wear of leather by constantly work- 
ing in water, every possible pretext was alleged for the 



us MR. Bellamy's world. 53 

premature exhaustion of the credit card. The gaps in 
my series of papers would not permit me to discover 
how this first attack on the Government resulted, but, as 
a consequence, all granting of advances was declared in- 
admissible. A proclamation was issued representing that 
the lofty socialistic society expected a wise economy from 
every citizen, and therefore the Government saw itself 
compelled to act with inexorable sternness against any 
trespass of the law. Persons without means would 
henceforth find support only in prisons and on a diet of 
bread and water. Tet even this could not relieve the 
credit cards from their uncertain position. On the con- 
trary, the Government's extreme solicitude for them be- 
came a source of peril. If people could get no help 
from the State, they must aid themselves. Countless 
communications concerning thefts of credit cards filled 
the papers, and there was scarcely a technical method of 
transferring a thing from the hands of an authorized 
owner to those of an unauthorized one which was not 
used. Secret removal from the pocket, opening of locks 
by means of night -keys, breaking into rooms, assault, 
attempted assassination, murder — every way of securing 
an unauthorized transfer of property was employed to 
increase the income of those who found no satisfaction 
even in the socialistic State, and the principle of equal 
income was not aided thereby. In vain did the Govern- 
ment post in all places where sales were made the most 
urgent warnings to identify those who presented cards. 
Whoever succeeded in obtaining another person's card 
need only take a pleasant little journey at the expense 
of the man robbed, and easily reach a place where no 
seller could know that the name on the card was not his 
own. Was the Government obliged to compensate the 
person who had been robbed or not ? Was equality of 



54 MB. FBEDEBICK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

income destroyed in the one case more than in the 
other? 

These were questions which speedily arose and were 
eagerly discussed. Some maintained that the preserva- 
tion of order was the duty of the Government, and it 
alone should be the sufferer if it failed to fulfil this 
duty; others argued that being robbed was a misfortune 
which the person concerned must bear, and the Govern- 
ment ought not to recompense the individual at the ex- 
pense of the community, which would be the case if the 
whole income of the State were lessened on account of 
the stolen cards. After long discussion, the conclusion 
was at last reached that compensation would not be al- 
lowable if the thief was not captured, but should be 
made in all cases where he was discovered. Whether 
the former or the latter instances were the more numer- 
ous I could not determine with any certainty. 

Still, the system of credit cards was not perfect, and 
the press, faithful to its old task, did not fail to make 
frequent suggestions of improvement. First came the 
proposal to abolish the credit card entirely, and intro- 
duce instead Bebel's little tokens of gold or tin. But 
the gold was unanimously, rejected without ceremony, 
because tokens made of gold were money, and restora- 
tion of money would undermine the very foundations 
of the social democratic Government. Tin at first had 
a small number of followers, but after a short discus- 
sion, the opinion prevailed that tokens made of it could 
be imitated too easily. Another suggestion was that 
the credit cards should be issued for a month only, in- 
stead of a year ; but the objection to this was that the 
distribution of the cards was too troublesome a matter 
to allow the luxury of frequent repetition. During 
this distribution the identification of each individual 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 55 

was necessary, and thus so much time was consumed 
that, though the places of distribution were multipKed 
and an unusual number of officials was employed, the 
business could scarcely be accomplished in a day, and 
thereby the majority of the people lost a working-day. 
A loss of twelve working- days annually would be a 
detriment to the whole cortimunity. A third idea found 
more favor — namely, to give to each person, instead of 
one, twelve credit cards of equal amount, and thus pre- 
vent any person from being deprived of his whole in- 
come by loss or robbery. This idea, too, did not lack 
objections. Some thought that it would only make 
thievery easier, and others feared that the multiplica- 
tion of cards might be troublesome and dangerous in 
travelling. The resolutions concerning changes in the 
manner of payment, however, do not yet seem to be 
ended, and it is to be hoped that some expedient satis- 
factory to all parties will be found. Much applause 
was elicited by a proposal that the Government should 
bestow a decoration of honor — a red ribbon — upon the 
person who should invent the best device for wearing 
the credit card in a case under the clothing, which, 
while secure, would permit the owner to draw it out 
and restore it with ease. 

From the above communications, the reader will per- 
ceive that I am perfectly right in believing Mr. Bella- 
my to be mistaken in regard to the disappearance of 
crimes connected with property. They very frequently 
occur in the socialistic community. That all other of- 
fences — and according to statistics they far outnum- 
bered, under the old system, those occasioned by prop- 
erty — must be lessened is not to be expected on any 
substantial ground, and it will not be difficult for me 
to cite a little catalogue of crimes which find their 



56 MB. FBEDERIOK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

source in the new order of aflEairs or are not prevented 
by it. 

A young wife, after spending nine months in a hos- 
pital to nurse her infant, found on her return home that 
her husband had bestowed his heart upon another wom- 
an. She watched him, and one day, as he was return- 
ing from a call upon his new love, flung the contents of 
a bottle of vitriol into his face. She was sentenced to 
a severe punishment. 

The manager of an agricultural business dealt one of 
the workmen a blow for torturing animals, and was 
fined 300 marks. 

Another steward was asked by his superior why a 
sow noted in the record had devoured her litter of six 
pigs, and received the reply that he knew of no reason, 
except that she perhaps wished to withdraw her chil- 
dren from the influence of the higher authorities. He 
was sentenced, for insubordination and contempt of the 
magistracy, to four weeks' imprisonment and degrada- 
tion to the rank of laborer. His consolation probably 
was that he could not be deprived of his income. 

Violent scenes had occurred in a popular assembly. 
Farm laborers had offered a resolution that for all dirty 
work, such as milking, removing stable dung, or using 
artificial manure, the hours of labor should be lessened 
one-half. 

On the other hand, the porters protested that there 
would be far more justice in reducing their hours of 
toil ; and these were again opposed by a protest from 
the street-cleaners. As the war of words in the assem- 
bly could not settle whether the uncleanliness of agri- 
cultural labor, or the health-destroying quality of the 
porter's trade, or the humiliation of the street-cleaner's 
calling, was just ground for the reduction of working 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 5T 

hours, the dispute was continued in the street in a tan- 
gible manner, and, to afford a more convincing explana- 
tion, stakes had been torn from a neighboring fence. 
This incident was brought to the notice of the courts, 
and, in consequence, a number of persons who had 
broken their stakes over other people's skulls were sen- 
tenced to a fortnight's imprisonment for injuries in- 
flicted upon Government property, and a minority who 
had injured the said skulls were condemned to several 
months' confinement in jail. 

In another popular assembly a speaker had called the 
ministers a mob of hypocrites, who wanted to rule in a 
social democratic Government without being really so- 
cial democrats. He was condemned to six weeks' im- 
prisonment. 

A woman who had forced her way into her neigh- 
bor's rooms to lecture him on account of the unclean 
condition of the court-yard had not obeyed his request 
to withdraw, and had therefore been sentenced to a 
week's confinement for a breach of the peace. 

An elderly man had denounced the keeper of a store- 
house for delivering goods at half price to a young lady 
whom he loved, but as the lady, on being summoned as 
a witness, swore upon oath that the charge was false, he 
was imprisoned for slander. 

The driver of a hack had driven four of his friends a 
short distance, and forgotten to cut their credit cards, 
but as bribery could not be proved he escaped with be- 
ing degraded to the position of drayman. 

A street-sweeper who carelessly soiled a lady's cloak 
was sentenced to clean sewers. 

A sewer-cleaner had been insubordinate to his supe- 
rior officer, but as he could be degraded to no lower 
position no punishment could be imposed. 



58 MK. FREDERICK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

A country laborer's wife had tolled a number of hens 
to lay their eggs in her room, and was punished by im- 
prisonment for appropriating the property of the Gov- 
ernment. 

A nervous gentleman whose soup was salted too 
much had termed the restaurant a hostlery fit only for 
pigs, and was sentenced to jail for insulting the Gov- 
ernment. 

These little items, culled hap-hazai"d from the papers 
as they came into my hands, will suffice to show that 
the socialistic form of government, in and of itself, will 
not secure a diminution of crime, and that Dr. Leete 
must have been a strange observer if he asserts it, and 
represents it as a consequence of the socialistic plan of 
government. Crime will diminish in every country in 
exact proportion to the increase of the number who are 
content with their condition. But contentment does 
not find the conditions of existence in the number of 
wants which society can gratify, but depends mainly 
upon whether the individual finds complete satisfaction 
for his highest needs in the mode of life shaped by the 
arrangements of society. A poor nation may be happier 
than a rich one if the latter lacks what the heart seeks. 

Since, from my own observation, I did not yet know 
what measure of material goods the socialistic commu- 
nity could produce, much less how far the system satis- 
fied the people, I was forced to content myself for the 
present with noting the facts I had discovered, and re- 
serving my opinion until I had a better knowledge of 
the condition of affairs. 

That civil lawsuits must lose importance under the 
socialistic form of government I had not doubted. If 
the millions no longer exchanged their services, but all 
mankind carried on business with a single merchant, the 



IN MB. Bellamy's woeld. 59 

number of complaints and differences of opinion must 
necessarily diminish. Yet I found reports of transac- 
tions from which I perceived that civil suits had not 
been wholly abolished. 

Herr Schulze had smoked with his friend Miiller a 
cigar that suited his taste exactly; but Miiller would 
not tell him the place where hd purchased it. The day 
before Herr Miiller had drunk some Rhine wine at 
Schulze's house, which he liked extremely, but the lat- 
ter had declined to tell him where to get it. Both 
agreed on an exchange, Miiller delivering a box of the 
cigars to Schulze, and the latter a certain quantity of 
wine to Miiller. Both had received notice a few days 
before from the warehouses that the goods were still in 
stock. When the delivery was made Schulze's cigars 
proved satisfactory, but Miiller's wine was evidently an 
inferior grade. As Schulze could not supply the wine 
Miiller desired, he declared himself ready to take it 
back and return the cigars, but Miiller considered him- 
self aggrieved, and would not accept the offer. Being 
fond of good wine, he had paid fifty marks more for 
the cigars than Schulze gave for the wine, and, besides, 
he was no smoker himself — merely kept a good brand 
in the house for his friends, as a hospitable man. A 
thousand cigars was far too large a quantity for this 
purpose. To avoid a quarrel Schulze had offered to 
supply the extra fifty marks in other wares, but as Miil- 
ler had no use for the cigars he declined this proposal 
also. A long lawsuit followed, which had not yet been 
decided. 

The complainant, Miiller, had requested that the de- 
fendant, Schulze, should be sentenced to take back the 
wine, and deliver such goods as the complainant might 
select, to the value of 250 marks. The defendant had 



■i 



60 ME. FREDERICK EAST'S EXPERIENCES 

replied that a payment of 450 marks for articles of lux- 
ury — namely, 200 for wine a;ad 250 for cigars — would 
draw so heavily upon the value of his credit card that 
he would not have enough left to obtain needful food 
and clothing. The following questions came up for de- 
cision : 

1. Is the Government obliged to indemnify Schulze 
if, on the guarantee of one of its officials that a certain 
kind of wine is still in stock, he orders this wine, and 
it then proves to be of inferior quality? 

2. If not, is this inability of the Government to de- 
liver wine of the same quality to be to Schulze a vis 
TTKijor, which releases him from the obligation to com- 
pensate Miiller for the inferiority of the wine ? 

3. If not, is MiiUer to be considered sufficiently com- 
pensated by the return of the cigars he delivered, and 
the fifty marks which were paid in addition, though he 
is unable- to use the aforesaid cigars ? 

4. If not, can Schulze be compelled to pay the sum 
for the cigars and the wine from his credit card, though 
he proves that he will not have enough left for the nec- 
essaries of life ? 

5. If not, is MiiUer obliged to wait for the reimburse- 
ment of the amount he paid for the cigars until new 
credit cards are issued, though he produces proof that, 
in order not to deprive himself of the necessaries of 
life, he wiU be forced to dispense with the wine which 
he has been ordered to drink daily for the benefit of 
his health i 

Helene Alberti, the wife of a prominent Government 
official, whose physician had prescribed an egg diet for 
weakness of the stomach, could not find a sufficient sup- 
ply in the markets. [The reader will learn in the course 
of these communications the cause of this strange scaro- 



IN MB. Bellamy's woeld. 61 

ity. — D. H.] Emilie Haberland, the wife of a respect- 
able shoemaker, whose love of dress had drawn heavily 
upon her credit card, and who was a friend of the man- 
ager of the Central Market, undertook to get the eggs, 
receiving from Frau Alberti the promise of a new hat 
as soon as she was guaranteed the delivery of 240. 
Emilie Haberland's friendly relations resulted in Frau 
Alberti's being notified, at the end of a few days, that 
the 240 eggs were waiting for her at the market. After 
receiving them, the latter, to her horror, discovered that 
67 had chickens and 103 were too old to use. Thus 
she had sustained considerable loss by their purchase, 
and therefore did not feel obliged to pay Frau Haber- 
land the promised hat. The latter brought suit, which 
has not yet been decided. To reach a verdict that will 
be in harmony with law and justice is by no means 
easy. 

The Government gives no guarantee of the excellence 
of its wares. [The reader will soon learn why. — D. H.] 
There i^ no proof that the manager of the Central Mar- 
ket exceeded his oflScial authority. Frau Haberland tried 
in an honest way to obtain the eggs, and her efforts were 
successful. Therefore she was injured when the prom- 
ised hat was not delivered. On the other hand, Frau 
Alberti undoubtedly expected to receive fresh eggs from 
Frau Haberland, who knew why she wanted them. 
Most of the eggs were uneatable, and she paid a high 
price. She would be doubly injured if she was also com- 
pelled to pay Frau Haberland a hat for her labor, which, 
both in her understanding and the honest intention of 
Frau Haberland, cannot be considered an actual service. 
I am no jurist, and therefore will not venture an opin- 
ion, but I think in this case, also, a verdict cannot be 
reached without legal acumen. 



62 MB. FBEDEBIOK EABT's EXFEBIENOES 

Herr Michael Schonthau, a tailor by trade, had a 
great fancy for elegant residences, and occupied the 
lower floor of a house in Friedrichstrasse, which had 
plate-glass windows. Unluckily, two of these windows 
were broken on the same morning — one by the shaft of 
a passing vehicle, the other by a locksmith going to his 
work with an iron bar on his shoulder, which a saucy 
lad pushed off. According to law, Herr Schonthau, like 
all tenants, was obliged to keep the window-panes in re- 
pair, but had a right to demand compensation from the 
breakers of the panes who, under the socialistic form of 
government, were as well off as he. But fearing that 
both might succeed in evading the duty of compensa- 
tion by proving the interference of a higher power, he 
thought it advisable to apply directly to the Govern- 
ment as the employer in whose service both roamed 
through the streets with implements dangerous to win- 
dows. His claim was refused, and he appealed to the 
law. The court held that the Government was answer- 
able for the window-pane shattered by the carriage; 
for, as it was proved that the horse had once run away, 
the fault could not be imputed to the driver. On the 
other hand, a locksmith was a workman like any other, 
though he used a dangerous implement in the service 
of the State, and an employer could not be expected to 
pay damages for injuries inflicted by an accident to one 
of his laborers upon a third person. I must leave criti- 
cism of this verdict to jurists. 

These few instances will show that, even in the social- 
ist Government, disputes between men are not abolished. 
They will also afford an idea of the nature and variety 
of the cases in which, according to their dispositions and 
character, people obey the impulse to defend or seek 
their supposed rights by appealing to the law. By far 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 63 

the greater number of complaints which came to my 
notice, however, were directed against the nation, or, 
rather, against the Government. The State was the 
producer and purveyor of all goods. It was the sole 
producer and the sole merchant. Everything that it 
made as producer, and sold as merchant, was created by 
persons who were not angels but human beings. And 
this luckless State itself was cramped in every direction 
by all the frailties and weaknesses which are the sorrow- 
ful heritage of man. It had neither eyes nor ears any- 
where, and was dependent in all its work upon the zeal 
and industry of people who considered it, and not them- 
selves, responsible for everything. On the other hand, 
those to whom it was to deliver the products of its labor 
confronted it with an undiminished measure of wants 
and wishes. They had created a new social system, but 
not for the purpose of practising self-sacrifice and de- 
stroying longings, for dissatisfaction had been the cause 
of this transformation. They had expected something 
more and better from a system of production which re- 
moved the motive for the struggle for existence, the 
rivalry of different powers, and the pursuit of gain, and 
directed every organized function of the various por- 
tions according to the special rules of the State. What 
marvel if men expected a government equipped with 
such wonderful powers to give them what they desired, 
and to give it unmarred by the deficiencies and weak- 
nesses which could not be avoided so long as production 
was a common manufacture by different persons, where 
all worked independently at the parts accidentally allot- 
ted. What marvel that men often failed to be satisfied 
with a government which did not possess the power of 
God and did not have angels in its employ ? 

The number of complaints made against the State 



64 MB. FBEDEBIOK EASX's EXPEBIENOES 

must really have been enormous. The newspapers pub- 
lished only the smaller portion of them, but what I read 
showed me that the expectations of the people and the 
performances of the Government were by no means in 
harmony. On the contrary, there seemed to be as many 
sources of complaint as, in the ordinary course of nature, 
there are imperfections in the things used for the serv- 
ice of men. It was said that butter was rancid, herring 
oily, and cheese specked. Coffee in one instance was de- 
clared to taste of kerosene. Some people had received 
rotten fruit, others spoiled preserves, and others, still, 
wormy rice. The bread was often stale and dry. Cigars 
had sometimes lacked flavor. Cocoa and chocolate 
proved musty. Meat, especially, was the source of many 
complaints ; sometimes it was too bony, sometimes not 
fat enough, sometimes too tough, and sometimes even 
spoiled. In former times competition had largely, 
though not invariably, served as a protection ; in the 
socialistic community the lack of competition did not 
appear to have proved a safeguard. 

With regard to clothing, complaints were sometimes 
made concerning the want of durability of the material, 
but far more frequently of seams ripping, buttons fall- 
ing off, and trimming badly put on. Complaints of the 
lack of durability of shoes were increasingly frequent. 
The water-proof boots of laborers in the country had 
often been far from water-tight ; the soles of walking 
boots had not been firmly put on, and the frequency of 
the complaints led me to believe that the Government 
had found it no easy matter to exercise satisfactory con- 
trol over the shoemakers in its mammoth workshops, 
now that they no longer feared loss of patronage. Who 
can blame people for not remaining silent and uncom- 
plaining? "We are forced to stint and torment our- 



IN MB. Bellamy's wokld. 65 

selves," they said, " and if the Government, calls upon 
us for work we cannot refuse. So we are entitled to 
demand that it shall furnish us with good wares, and 
produce, not worse, but better articles than were manu- 
factured in former times." As the Government, how- 
ever, found itself unable to remove all grievances, there 
was nothing for people to do except to resort to the law 
and seek compensation or redress. They could easily 
do this because the Government was so liberal in pro- 
viding legal assistance gratis. Most of the complaints 
seemed to have been rejected for lack of proof ; in some 
the Government had been condemned; but these nu- 
merous complaints and grievances proved the occasion 
of its casting oflf the burden once for all, and in the most 
eflfectual manner. The public was by no means agree- 
ably surprised one day by a placard put up in all places 
where anything was sold — a placard bearing in large let- 
ters the words: "No government guarantee wlll be 

GIVEN FOR PERFECTION OF MATERIAL OR EXCELLENCE OF 

WORK." This seemed to be a radical method of curing 
the populace of a desire to go to law against the Gov- . 
ernment, which could not fail to be harmful to the com- 
munity. Whether it will prove equally eflfective in re- 
moving human discontent the future must determine. 

I was not reluctant to leave a department of study 
which by no means realized my joyous anticipations, and 
I felt the more pleased when, turning to another part of 
the literature of the day, I chanced upon a real ray of 
light in the socialistic order of affairs. It was doubt- 
less owing to my former interest in agricultural pursuits 
that, glancing through the articles upon the questions of 
the day, my attention was first arrested by that of dam- 
age done by game. This problem has really been most 
admirably solved by the socialist Government. I do not 

5 



66 MR. FREDERICK EAST S EXPERIENCES 

mean that the question has simply been pushed aside by 
the transfer of all lands to the State, thereby abolishing 
all the small farmers who were bold enough to complain 
of the injury done to their crops by the game of the own- 
ers of large estates, but because, after the introduction of 
the new order of things, the time had really come when 
the Government perceived that the public welfare was 
better served by protecting the labor of the farmer than 
the love of the chase. Even in the transformation of 
affairs this was not accomplished at a single blow. At 
first there were plenty of newspaper articles complain- 
ing that, by the increase of game, crops had been dam- 
aged and potato fields uprooted, or by hunting through 
the ripening harvest fields much corn had been de- 
stroyed. But these articles, which in former times had 
not been specially well received by the Government, at 
last found satisfactory attention. 

The socialistic Government perceived that the land 
belonged to it alone, and this perception led to the be- 
lief that the sanctity of property was a wise maxim for 
a good Government. It perceived, too, that it alone 
had to manure and to plough, to sow and to reap, and 
doubtless the spectacle of ravaged fields awakened a 
touch of that feeling which in former times stirred the 
peasant's breast when he saw the fruit of his toil partly 
destroyed and himself helpless. To reach this percep- 
tion and to put an end to the privileges of the chase had 
been but a single step. In the shortest possible time all 
the woodlands were fenced in, and hunting in any tilled 
fields was forbidden on pain of the most severe penal- 
ties. So in this respect peace had come to the country. 
Game could be reared and fed in the forests as cattle 
were in the farmers' stables. They could be hunted or 
spared as seemed desirable. Lovers of the chase could 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 67 

enjoy their favorite amusement in the woods to their 
hearts' content, and the public never had the vexation 
of seeing the results of their industry destroyed by the 
law protecting game. 

"Poor farmers of the nineteenth century," I invol- 
untarily thought, "it needed the social democratic Gov- 
ernment to release you from the fears which, owing to 
the law protecting the pleasure which rich men took in 
hunting, haunted your honest toil." * 

But turning from this bright spot in the socialistic 
Government, I found nothing in the social and business 
aims of the period to warrant the radiant anticipations 
fostered by the glowing descriptions of Dr. Leete. 

On the contrary, the battle for personal advantage 
was conducted with the same vehemence with which in- 
terests had contended during the earlier ages. It was 
discouraging to find Mr. Bellamy unreliable in this re- 
spect. He had made his Dr. Leete say that labor in 
the socialistic community was not obligatory, but that 
every person was permitted to choose his calling accord- 
ing to his taste and talents. The drawback of having a 
surplus in one profession and a deficiency in others 
could be easily obviated by lessening the number of 
working hours in the more disagreeable avocations. If 
any occupation was found to be too arduous and un- 
pleasant to attract voluntary laborers, limit the day's 
work to ten minutes and it would be done. This har- 
monizes with truth, so far as the intention of carrying 
out the purpose is concerned, but not if we consider the 
intention less than the manner of execution. I could 



* The reader wiU remember that Friedrich Ost was a native of Mecklen- 
burg, and this exclamation was probably a reference to the more rigid 
game-laws of his birthplace. — D. H. 



68 MK. FREDERICK EAST'S EXPERIENCES 

not follow the result in all its details by reading the 
various articles in which the organization of labor was 
discussed ; but so far as I could gather the system had 
developed in all the countries nearly as follows : 

At the introduction of the ,new order of things the 
Government had requested every' one to name the em- 
ployment he or she preferred, and the result had been 
gratifying in so far that no one delayed in stating the 
favorite vocation. But if the Government had expected 
to accomplish a satisfactory organization of labor in this 
way, it had committed a fatal error. 

In Germany one-third of the males who were able to 
work had desired to be employed in hunting. Of the 
remaining two -thirds 10 per cent, had wished to be in 
charge of farms, on condition that a saddle-horse was 
kept for them at the expense of the State ; 10 per cent, 
offered to be coachmen and grooms, on condition that 
the feeding, currying, harnessing, removal of manure, 
and cleaning of carriages should be done by others ; 10 
per cent, volunteered to tend cattle, on condition of be- 
ing relieved from bringing fodder and removing ma- 
nure ; 10 per cent, to be sailors, on condition of being 
relieved of loading and unloading the cargo ; 30 per cent, 
officials in the executive, educational, and book-keeping 
departments of the Government; 15 per cent, musi- 
cians, actors, etc. ; 1 per cent, each physicians, engineers, 
architects, sea-captains, artists and sculptors, miners, 
farm laborers, and members of the learned professions ; 
and -g- per cent, locksmiths, turners, chair-makers, ma^ 
sons, carpenters, glaziers, weavers, saddlers, tailors, and 
cobblers. This had been naturally no pleasant surprise 
to the Government. It had more hunters than game, 
more managers of farms than farms. There would 
also have been no lack of coachmen, cattle-tenders, anfl 



IN MB. Bellamy's woeld. 69 

sailoi*8, if only a single soul had offered to do the 
work from which they made it a condition to be re- 
lieved. But how, with the small number of farm labor- 
ers, was the State to obtain bread for the people and 
food for the cattle ? How, with the unsatisfactory num- 
ber of miners, was it to get sufficient coal, iron, etc.? 
How were the people to be provided with clothes 
and shoes if so few were willing to be tailors and shoe- 
makers? How were houses to be built? How could 
railroads be run if nobody was willing to be switch- 
tender, conductor, or fireman ? How were goods to be 
transported, streets swept, rivers dredged, sewers cleaned, 
if no one applied for the work? 

The Government did not fare much better with the 
offers from the women. By far the greater number of 
spinsters desired occupations which fostered intercourse 
with young men, and bar-maids in the beer-shops, sales- 
women in glove stores, first and second rate singers, 
ballet dancers and actresses, appeared in ample numbers. 
There were also plenty of cooks, on condition of being 
relieved of washing the cooking utensils and preparing 
the materials. There was a still smaller supply of appli- 
cations for places as nursery governesses, nurses of chil- 
dren, sick-nurses, and all kinds of needle- work, and none 
at all for cleaning of all kinds, peeling potatoes, milking 
cows, and the various kinds of labor carried on in the 
open air and in factories. 

So the volunteer system did not succeed, and it was 
fortunate that the Government — at least, the German one 
— at once issued the command that every one must for 
the present continue the occupation in which he was earn- 
ing a living during the last week prior to the change in 
the system of government. But the matter required a 
final legal settlement, and, besides, the necessity at once 



70 MR. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

arose for finding suitable employment for those who had 
been pursuing an independent business, as well as for 
those who had not labored at all, and, also, enrolling the 
young people who had reached working age. Long 
arguments upon these diflScult points followed, but in 
Germany the industry and devotion of the law-giving 
bodies at last produced a code whose 753 paragraphs 
contained the following essential points: 

1. Every male and female citizen is ordered, on pain 
of panishment, to appear daily at the hour appointed by 
the Government, or his or her special chief, at the place 
named, for the purpose of working at the task to which 
he or she is assigned. 

2. All male and female citizens who, prior to the re- 
organization of the State, were not working for any 
salary or wages must at once report to the labor officials 
of their respective districts, giving at the same time a 
description of their qualifications, talents, and prefer- 
ences, with a statement of their ages and previous occu- 
pations. The local magistrate will forward the docu- 
ment to the Bureau of Labor, which will then determine 
the occupation to be pursued. 

3. Young male and female citizens who are just reach- 
ing the working age must deliver to the local magis- 
trate the certificates of their teachers, on which must be 
specially noted the vocations for which their mental and 
physical powers best qualify them, and to these cer- 
tificates a written report must be added, specifying their 
own wishes in regard to their future avocations. By 
these certificates and reports, and also the most pressing 
needs of. the Government, the Bureau of Labor finally 
determines the occupation to be followed and the place 
where the work is to be done. 

4. 1^0 male or female citizen is entitled to change 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 71 

either the occupation or the place of labor assigned 
without permission of his or her superior officer. Re- 
monstrances or refusal to work will be punished by 
imprisonment on bread and water. Requests for trans- 
fer from one kind of employment to another, or from 
one place to another, must be handed to the local labor 
official, who has the right of decision. Appeal to the 
Bureau of Labor is allowable. 

5. The Government has the right, according to the 
needs of the State, to order every citizen transiently or 
permanently from one kind of occupation to another. 
Refusal to obey will be punished with imprisonment on 
bread and water. Costs of transportation will be de- 
frayed by the State. 

6. All officials appointed to superintend or direct work 
must report at once to the Bureau of Labor if there is 
any surplus of laborers in the district allotted to them, 
or if the working force is not sufficient to accomplish 
the task assigned. The Bureau in the one case will find 
occupation for the surplus elsewhere, and in the other 
supply the force lacking. 

7. In case of a transient or permanent transfer from 
one place of work to another, the Bureau of Labor must 
do all in its power to arrange that the wives and hus- 
bands of the citizens to be transferred also obtain em- 
ployment in the place to which the transfer is made. 
But should the said Bureau, from considerations con- 
nected with the accomplishment of the work, find this 
impossible, refusal of a transient or permanent separation 
on the part of the said wife or husband is not allowable. 

8. The time of labor fixed is : {a) for all occupations 
which require intellectual rather than manual labor, or 
which from their nature cannot have a fixed number of 
Jionrs a day allotted (bar-maids, nurses, sick-nurses, ballet- 



i4 



72 MB. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

dancers, circus -riders, rope-dancers, coachmen, porters, 
conductors on railroads, and switch-tenders), the number 
of hours which proves necessary to accomplish the work 
to be done; (J) for all occupations which demand man- 
ual rather than intellectual labor (so far as they do not 
come under the above category), eight hours of work, 
which must be performed between six in the morning 
and six in the evening. In pursuits where labor cannot 
be interrupted without great loss of fuel, or without in- 
jury to the work already accomplished, the set of work- 
men will be changed three times during the twenty-four 
hours. 

So, under the socialistic Government, eight hours ha4 
been fixed as the working-day, a matter which had been 
agitated in 1889. I had supposed that at the commence- 
ment it would be six hours at the utmost, but during 
the discussions the idea prevailed that it would be easier 
to lessen the working hours than to lengthen them, and 
that therefore it would be wise not to begin with mak- 
ing too small a demand upon the industrial force. 

But the very fact that equality of the time for all 
manual labor was established proved the rock of offence 
to all classes. People had become thoroughly inocu- 
lated with the fundamental idea of socialism that no 
one must have a larger income than his fellows. Tet ap- 
parently there was scarcely a branch of labor which had 
been entered upon under the new system where the 
workers did not secretly think that this special branch 
was one of peculiar difficulty, and therefore deserved a 
diminution of the hours of toil. Everybody felt the ex- 
hausting, annoying, arduous features of his or her own 
occupation, and no one could realize how exhausting, 
annoying, and arduous was the labor of others. 

Thus disappointment was experienced on all sides, and 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 73 

the vocation of the daily press was to voice this feeling. 
There were, indeed, a legion of articles expressing this 
disappointment, and at the same time offering some sug- 
gestion of relief ; most of them bore the heading, " In 
the Cause of Equal Justice," and the signature, " Also a 
Friend of Justice." In every article, too, the purport, 
if not the wording, was the same. After having at last 
succeeded in correcting the injustice of the old social 
system, the wronging of the masses by individuals, and 
the unnatural inequality of property, thereby establish- 
ing a kingdom of peace and equity, society was now to 
perform the beautiful and grateful task of applying the 
last touch, and relieving labor where it was at a disad- 
vantage with other forms of employment. The dimi- 
nution of working hours afforded a delightful and easy 
remedy for aU inequalities of this nature. 

Then followed in every article a detailed account of 
the reasons why the class of workers for which the writ- 
er was pleading was more burdened than all the others, 
and that it would be a mockery of the social democratic 
system if such oppressive conditions were not relieved. 
Spiteful side-thrusts at the comfort, ease, or healthful- 
ness of all other avocations were rarely lacking. Some 
found their work too monotonous, others too wearisome, 
others too unclean and distasteful. All believed their 
labor to be injurious to the health and likely to shorten 
life : some because it was pursued in close rooms ; others 
because it exposed them to heat, cold, wind, and rain ; 
others because it was sometimes performed in-doors and 
sometimes in the open air, thereby constantly causing 
colds. 

■ Every article closed with the opinion that it would be 
perfectly just to extend the working hours of certain 
other avocations, but those of the one in question ought 



74 MR. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

to be lessened 25 to 50 per cent. It wa^ a very active 
warfare, and I vainly searched the history of the past for 
a single instance where different portions of society had 
been arrayed against each other in such a conflict. I 
first recalled the struggle of the year 1878, when the 
policy of protection began. But this had been followed 
by an agreement between the contending parties. It 
had been in reality a war between those who had prop- 
erty and those who had not, and prudence soon admon- 
ished them to join their forces against a common foe 
that had striven to fleece each. But here it was not 
certain large classes of society who, though with various 
interests, began a war of gain against the other class ; but 
each separate division was pursuing its own goal, and 
there were no common interests. 

When Dr. Leete talks so much about peace and har- 
mony among men, he imagines it. America will not 
differ from this country, and I see here a degree of 
class contention which presents a picture very unlike 
that of peace. 

Nor did peace reign in other spheres of public life. 
I should not like to aflSrm that I found a worse condi- 
tion of affairs in this respect than in former times, but 
certainly, according to all the signs I could discover, 
there had been no improvement. 

At the utmost, I could make an exception only in 
the domains of art and poetry ; not that the conflict of 
opinions had ceased here, but the differences seemed to 
have been forced into a narrower circle, and no longer 
to hinge upon questions of deeper significance. Critics 
of works of art and of poetry no longer discussed 
whether idealism and the higher classic taste had a right 
to be represented in both, for all doubts concerning 
their exclusion appeared to have vanished. Opinions 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 75 

varied merely as to whether the artist or poet had fully 
satisfied the demands of realism, or whether, spite of 
his praiseworthy efforts, he had not been too timid. 
Little as I could judge of what was being accomplished 
in art and poetry at the commencement of the twenty- 
first century — for I had neither seen a work of art nor 
read a poem — the discussions of these subjects left me 
in no doubt that the direction of taste which had so 
largely preponderated at the close of the nineteenth 
century had attained complete mastery in the course of 
one hundred and ten years. The doors of poetry and 
art were barred against everything beautiful, magnifi- 
cent, sublime, and elevated, while they tenderly fostered 
the ugly, loathsome, and detestable. Thus the intoler- 
ance of the beautiful, which had gained so much ascend- 
ency in 1890, had attained its goal, and the critics doubt- 
less felt content, like the sow wallowing in the mire. 
True, they did not agree on all points, but the differ- 
ences of opinion were really about the merest trifie. 
One clique seemed to be satisfied that the summit of 
realism had been successfully reached, the other opined 
that it was still a short distance further. In regard to 
the drama, especially, the view was often expressed that 
the writer was still too much restricted by the fear of 
showing the real in all its bareness. Suggestions were 
made which my pen is unwilling to record. I asked 
myself whether this phenomenon was probably con- 
nected in any way with the revolution in the social sys- 
tem, and attained the conviction that such a relation 
was undeniable. No matter how we value the idea of 
socialism, even its adherents, even those to whom its 
feasibility has never appeared doubtful, must admit that 
it strives to drag society down from the heights already 
climbed to a lower level, and the plane on which soci- 



76 ME. FEEDERICK EASt's EXPEEIENCES 

ety stood in the year 2000 was certainly a considerably 
lower one. 

This proceeds from the nature of equalization. The 
social democrats were not content with raising the 
lower elements, which would have merited the most 
universal approval, but, as they also strove to equalize 
the distinctions of social position, they were forced to 
reduce the higher elements to zero — that is, to the point 
where* equalization took place. 

The result to be expected from this need not be dis- 
cussed here. It could scarcely be different from what 
would have occurred if the Creator of the universe, in- 
stead of the various degrees of warmth making summer 
and winter, had established a medium temperature for 
ever}^ day ; thus, it is true, never permitting an excess 
of cold or heat, but thereby preventing the earth from 
attaining that high degree of development which afford- 
ed men the conditions of civilization. 

To render men willing to receive an idea whose final 
result could be no other than the lowering of the whole 
social life to a level which must lack the main condi- 
tions of f ruitf ulness, their entire mode of thought nfod- 
ed to be changed. The impulse to move from a higher 
to a lower plane — a movement in total contrast to that 
in which nature and mankind have been engaged from 
the beginning — cannot be felt until the human race has 
lost its appreciation of the value of the beautiful, the 
sublime, and the noble. Even in the last decade of the 
nineteenth century the preponderance of realism in art 
and poetry showed the diminution of this appreciation, 
for people were not content with promoting realism in 
every possible way, but even desired to dispute the 
right of idealism to existence, and with the repression 
of the latter the nation lost the power of resisting the 



I 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 77 

victorious progress of an idea by which society, as a 
whole, could be anything but elevated. 

In this way I thought I had found a connection be- 
tween the undivided sway of realism in art and poetry, 
and the fact that humanity could reconcile itself to the 
idea of putting the artificial system of social democracy 
in the place of the natural order of society. 

In my opinion idealism and realism have equal rights ; 
nay, they must balance each other. If idealism does 
not find a counterpoise in a healthy realism, it will de- 
generate into weakness, shallowness, and falsity to nat- 
ure. On the other hand, realism in a people who have 
lost all ideals will constantly tend downward, corrupt 
the taste, and merge more and more into cynicism. 
The drama in 1890 had entered this path, and the low- 
ering of taste could not fail to rob society of the con- 
sciousness of its height of civilization. 

Such were the thoughts which involuntarily stole 
into my mind as I was approaching the close of my 
study of the fine arts in the daily press. I turned to 
another important subject — it was to be the last in my 
series of investigations — the condition of popular edu- 
cation. Here I found an unusually active interest in 
the discussion of the pros and cons, and the very first 
article on which my eyes fell showed me plainly that 
the socialistic state could not be just in dealing with 
the problem of equality in education. 

Though the decision of the strife over the Latin essay 
and the Greek language seemed to belong to the past, 
even after the retreat into the purely practical province, 
wide differences of opinion existed concerning the boun- 
daries to be maintained and the branches of learning 
requisite for a healthful education of the masses. Apart 
from the fact that people must have perceived very 



78 MR. FEEDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

speedily that the degree of education attainable did not 
depend solely upon the kind of learning, the number of 
the school years, or the knowledge of the teachers, but 
also upon the industry, capacity, and tastes of the pu- 
pils, directly after the establishment of the socialistic 
Government the question arose whether, with the great 
difference in occupations, it would be right to endeavor 
to give every citizen an equally high degree of intellect- 
ual culture. There were many callings, it was said, 
which demanded a special amount of bodily vigor and 
development of the muscles, and it was doubtful 
whether for these avocations early habituation to the 
fatigues of labor and the .rigors of the weather would 
not be far more advantageous than so much knowledge 
of the modern languages, literature, mathematics, and 
the various branches of the physical sciences. Experi- 
ence had already proved that, with the social democratic 
principle of equality of profit, the free choice of an oc- 
cupation would not be permissible. But if the kind of 
employment to be pursued was forced on each individ- 
ual by the Government, the individual had a right to 
expect the State to give him the education which would 
best fit him for the imposed calling. The person who 
must some day become a farm laborer, miner, coal- 
heaver, or smith, would desire, above all else, to have 
his body prepared in youth for the toil to be performed 
throughout his life, since, without early habit and prep- 
aration, the work must always be exhausting and oppres- 
sive. So the youth ought not to be kept in school until 
he reached his twenty-first year, and instead of striving 
for equality of education, it would be better to aim at 
bestowing the kind of training and the degree of intel- 
lectual culture required by the duties of each pursuit. 
True, this undeniably sensible view had not passed 



IN ME. BELLAMY^S WOKLD. 79 

without contradiction, for making distinctions in the 
education of the people was regarded by many, perhaps 
not unjustly, as an infringement of the social democratic 
principle ; but in time the plan was approved. 

Then, however, a long and acrimonious conflict arose 
between learned and unlearned men — a conflict which 
at the time of my study of the newspapers was still 
continuing with unabated vigor. It really turned upon 
the question whether it would be better to return to the 
old division into national schools, higher citizen schools, 
real schools, and gymnasia, or to establish for all the 
children a national school, according to whose graduat- 
ing certificate some should at once go to work, others 
to special schools intended to fit them for their future 
occupations ; what subjects should be taught in the na- 
tional as well as in the special schools ; what degree of 
knowledge of the various branches must be attained by 
pupils ; what kind of knowledge should be regarded as 
indispensable for the development of mind and char- 
acter, and what kind would serve merely as ballast in 
the pupil's brain. The striking diversity of opinions, 
and the obstinacy of the warfare, left me in no doubt 
that the nature of the social democratic Government 
would not be specially adapted to solve the difficult 
problem of the school question. 

The question of history as a subject of instruction 
was the only one which particularly interested me. No 
one disputed that it would be an important means of 
education, and must be fostered in the national schools. 
But how it should be taught, what portions were espe- 
cially educational and stimulating, whether it would be 
enough for the scholars to know the names of all the 
sovereigns and the battles, as well as the corresponding 
dates, or whether it was rather the duty of the school to 



80 MB. FBEDERICK EAST's EXPEBIBNCES 

explain the development of the civilization of the na- 
tions, were questions over which an endless conflict 
arose. In this battle, moreover, a number of politicians 
mingled, who were seeking in the distribution of histor- 
ical instruction to gain a political object, and whose zeal 
and prominence succeeded in directing the contest into 
totally different channels. 

History, they said, had but one goal to attain : that of 
bringing the populace to a clear conception of the fact 
that the whole development of the human race, from 
the creation of Adam to the establishment of the social- 
istic Government, had been a thoroughly perverted, 
harmful, and extremely corrupt one, and that an imper- 
ishable service had been rendered by the men who, amid 
severe strife and martyrdom, with God's gracious assist- 
ance, had won a place for the social democratic adminis- 
tration. Only by inspiring the young with the feeling 
that the socialistic Government was the greatest of 
earthly blessings could a generation be expected in the 
future which would rally with immovable fidelity 
around the banner of social democracy. The paths for 
the investigation of history were thus marked out, and 
the school had the task of showing people in flesh and 
blood what science, with correct appreciation of its aims, 
was bringing to light. 

True, there was energetic opposition to this effort. It 
was said that the study of history was a science, and no 
revelation ; its sole task, therefore, could be to seek only 
pure truth and hold this like a mirror before the eyes 
of men. If any other purpose was associated with its 
study, and the facts of history were approached with an 
opinion previously formed, the pupil could not fail to 
fall into error. History ceases to be a real means of 
education when the acts of men and nations are shown 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 81 

through spectacles which make things appear in a false 
light. But the men of science could no longer conquer 
their opponents. The old observation that people like 
best to hear and read what is agreeable to them, and are 
less willing to seek truth for truth's sake, seemed to be 
verified in the socialistic world. Therefore, their rivals 
found it easy to reply that it was a narrow-minded idea 
to seek truth only where it appeared in a different light 
fi*om that which the seeker, according to his own con- 
victions, desired. Even in the last decades of the nine- 
teenth century investigation showed plainly enough that 
even with a slight bias — there was no lack of allusions 
to well-known names — the cleverest works of history can 
be written. There is scarcely a page of history which 
does not reveal in distinct characters the defect of the 
former social system, and it is a proof of great narrow- 
mindedness not to seek to show by these imperfections 
that the socialistic Government is a boon to m3,nkind. 
That the review of history in the socialistic State would 
be quite different from the former one seemed to me, 
from what I read, unquestionable. 

That all generations behold the past in a different light 
can appear only natural, for it is not possible for most 
men to rid themselves of the prejudices fostered by the 
circumstances of their times. But precisely because our 
prejudices limit our freedom of judgment, we ought to 
strive to avoid everything which merely supplies fresh 
food for prejudice, since this diverts us still more from 
the perception of truths, and history must finally cease 
to be a means of education if political objects are inter- 
woven with its study. This had been done in my own 
day, and I really could not wonder that an insignificant 
little seed had, in the course of time, produced corrupt- 
ible fruit. 

6 



82 MB. FBEDEBIOE EAST's EXPERIENCES 

This finished my studies. I had suflSciently examined 
what I could find in my scrutiny of the newspapers. I 
had not gained full assurance on all points, but where 
doubts lingered my attention had been aroused, and I 
could confidently iexpect the solution of the enigma as 
soon as I entered the stream of life. This period was 
not far distant as, during the days spent in reading, my 
strength had increased and my body had regained its 
former vigor. 

Concerning two questions, however, I was, to my 
great regret, utterly in the dark. I had not found a syl- 
lable to inform me whether here, as well as in America, 
the citizens were discharged from the service of the 
Government on reaching the age of forty-five, nor how 
large a sum was given by the credit card to each indi- 
vidual. Both questions were somewhat connected, for 
the age of the State pensioners and the amount of the 
annual income must afford an unerring proof of the de- 
gree of wealth obtained by the nation. 

This question possessed the deepest interest for me. 
In my time (I may be allowed to call it so — ^it was early 
in the year 1890) I had made an estimate from the data 
of the statistics of the Prussian Government, according to 
which every inhabitant capable of earning money, from 
the minister to the lowest workman, had an average 
daily income of 2.47 marks — that is, a yearly income of 
741 marks ; and this estimate was by no means based 
upon liberation from labor at the age of forty-five. 
Somewhat later Eugene Kichter estimated, in a little 
different way, a yearly income of 842 marks, and I 
should be disposed to believe that the latter was too high 
rather than that mine was too low. But even Kichter's 
income would not have tempted any of the lower oflBl- 
cials, nor a very large number of workmen, to have 



IN ME. Bellamy's wobld. 83 

changed their actual earnings for their receipts accord- 
ing to the social democratic division of the common in- 
come. How much had the national income probably 
increased in the course of a century ? What had the 
workman gained by the equality of the distribution ? 

These were important questions, for whose solution I 
must wait patiently. "Wearied by long study and medi- 
tation,! went to rest and soon fell into a refreshing 
sleep. 



84 MB. FEEDERICK EAST'S EXPERIENCES 



CHAPTER IV. 

A VISIT TO THE CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF STATISTICS. 

. I WAS busied the next morning in making some little 
extracts from the newspaper articles I had read, when 
Sister Martha entered in a state of joyful excitement. 
She had at last received the long desired answer from 
the Chief of the Bureau of Statistics, Herr Biichner, and 
it was a very favorable one. After a brief apology for the 
delay in the reply on account of an absence of several 
days, he expressed his great satisfaction that he could 
easily obtain for me a position that would suit my tastes 
and knowledge. But, in order not to fall into any error 
on this point, it would afford him much pleasure to make 
my acquaintance. " So pray ask your representative of 
the glorious nineteenth century, risen from his death 
sleep of a hundrd years, to do me the honor of calling 
on me at five o'clock this afternoon," were the last 
words of the letter. 

So I was to be released from my solitude and the 
cheerless, quiet life which, with my eager desire to en- 
ter into this new world and mingle with its affairs, had 
become very oppressive. I was as full of happiness as 
I had ever been in the days of my childhood, and paced 
the room from end to end with long strides. "At last," 
I said, " I am to have an opportunity to see this crea- 
tion of the German Bellamys, Bebel and Liebknecht. 
I shall not be satisfied, like Julian West, with letting 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 85 

any Dr. Leete tell me about things, but shall rack my 
* own brains and open my own eyes." 

" I can fully understand your delight, my dear friend," 
replied Sister Martha, " but you must not be vexed if I 
drag the lofty flight of your thoughts down to earth." 

" Drag the flight of my thoughts down to earth ? I 
am on the earth now, and what I desire to search, probe, 
examine, is but a patch of the globe on which people 
are living in a little different way from that of a hun- 
dred years ago." 

" But this patch of the globe imposes certain demands 
upon people, and requires ns to dress when we desire to 
search and examine it. At the present time, visitors do 
not call on Herr Biichner in dressing-gown and slip- 
pers." 

I stopped short in dismay. To call on the Chief of 
the Bureau just as I was had not entered my brain, 
but I had not yet realized that I had not brought with 
me my old clothes-press which, in former days, I need- 
ed only to open to obtain garments suitable for every 
occasion. I now perceived, to my horror, that not an 
article I wore was my own. The clothing that had cov- 
ered me when I set out on my long journey had been 
destroyed by mould and moths, and I owed my dress- 
ing-gown, slippers, and unmentionables solely to the 
generosity of the hospital. But would the latter also 
supply me with a business-coat, hat, overcoat, vest, boots, 
and trousers suitable for paying calls in a city? This 
seemed to me doubtful, no matter how high an opinion 
I might have of the liberality of the socialistic Govern- 
ment. 

I probably looked very downcast, for Sister Martha 
burst into a merry laugh. 

" It seems to me," she cried, " that you are just now 



86 MB. FKEDEKICK EASt's EXFEBIENOES 

in a position when a man doesn't consider it a great mis- 
fortune to have a wealthy and helpful friend." 

Overjoyed at her words, I seized her hand, exclaim- 
ing : " If you will be my friend, I'll take you at your 
word, and assure you that I was drawn to you from the 
first moment. Your dress, your calling, and all the 
kindness you have shown, attest your helpfulness. But 
I don't believe that you are rich. Tou live in the so- 
cialistic State, and this has extinguished the vital spark 
of wealth." 

" That depends upon what is meant by wealth," she 
answered. "In former times millionaires were called 
rich, but I have known many whose purses were empty 
long before their next interest money came due, and I 
have always considered myself far richer than these 
men, for I had a few gold coins in my pocket-book when 
my next quarter's salary was paid. To-day I feel rich 
because I still have half my credit card untouched, and 
the year is almost over. So grant me my pleasure and 
the playfulness it inspires. I will give you my credit 
card, and you shall go to a clothing store and be trans- 
formed into a distinguished citizen of the socialistic 
State." 

These were certainly kind, noble, generous words. 
But had Sister Martha a right to use the credit card is- 
sued in her name to supply my needs? Whatever she 
did not use went back to the Government. Was it not 
appropriating public property, to employ what would 
rightfully fall to it for my benefit ? 

I told her my scruple, but was forced to admit that 
her view of justice was no false one. 

"The sum which the Government gives me as my 
share of the general revenue," she replied, "is money 
honestly earned, and no one has a right to restrict me in 



« 
\ 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 87 

spending it. It is shameful enough that people are not 
permitted to keep what they save by frugality and thrift. 
But these virtues do not seem to be regarded by the 
socialistic Government as a sure foundation. Otherwise 
it would beware of imposing the penalty of confiscation 
upon economy. The more* abominable I consider it to 
be deprived of what is my own, unless I squander it in 
finery for my person or consume it in eating and drink- 
ing, the less I am disposed to submit to such robbery. 
If I cannot keep what I save, I will not let it benefit 
those who have, dug the grave of economy, the mother 
of home life, but those whom I can help in need. So 
lay aside all scruples, my dear Herr Ost. You are in a 
condition which all the sophisms in the world cannot 
aid. There is not in the whole civilized earth a tailor 
who would loan you a suit for an hour, so do not deny 
the pleasure of aiding you to one who to-day has the 
happinesss of calling herself your only friend." 

Why should I have refused such cordial kindness? 
Though I could not conceal from myself that during 
the one hundred and eleven years which I had spent in 
the gravel-pit in a condition that was neither death nor 
life, I had done nothing for society which would be 
worth the cost of a suit of clothes, 1 had nevertheless 
been no such criminal as would warrant the Government 
in refusing my friend the privilege of clothing me from 
the proceeds of her work. Therefore I accepted the 
offer gratefully and without reserve, though unable to 
promise restitution, for, as I understood the socialist 
Government, it was not adapted to afford a man more 
than a moderate support. 

There were some who, like Sister Martha, made sacri- 
fice their life-calling, but unfortunately I did not belong 
to this class. Meantime a fresh source of embarrassment 






t 



88 MR. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

arose. I was to make purchases on Sister Martha's credit 
card. Coiild I appear in a clothing shop without identi- 
fication? The first of November had already passed, and 
the period dangerous to credit cards had probably ar- 
rived ; all those who sold goods were enjoined to care- 
fully notice those who presented them. Sister Martha's 
card bore a woman's name, and my face showed the 
most evident tokens of my sex. Might I not expect to 
be arrested on a charge of theft ? 

I proposed to Sister Martha to give me a power of at- 
torney and have her signature certified by a notary. 
But she did not know whether there were notaries in 
the socialist Government, and, moreover, thought that 
the necessary forms would consume far too much time 
and could not be complied with during the few hours 
before the afternoon. So there was nothing to be done 
except for Sister Martha to arrange her duties a little 
and go with me to the establishment. 

We carried out this plan at four in the afternoon. A 
hack stood close by. Sister Martha gave the driver her 
credit card to cut, and after a short drive we stopped in 
front of a large store provided with every comfort, and 
fitted up in a way similar to the arrangements of the 
best shops in the nineteenth century. 

A pleasant-mannered young man instantly asked what 
we desired, and when my name was mentioned — of 
course it had been in all the papers — congratulated me 
on my fortunate rescue. I followed him — Sister Martha 
remaining in the outer room — ^into an adjoining dress- 
ing-room, tried on various articles, and had the pleasure 
of presenting myself to my friend in a handsome suit, 
appropriate for both calling and daily wear. The hat, 
overcoat, and boots were also of faultless workmanship. 
Meanwhile my insatiably generous patroness had se* 

V 



IK MB. Bellamy's wobld. 89 

lected a handsome umbrella, a dozen shirts, socks, and 
under-garments, and I was thus a well-equipped citizen 
of the new world. Sister Martha took out her credit 
card, had the clerk mark with his shears the sum of 183 
marks and 75 pfennigs, and, after a courteous bow, we 
went out into the street again. 

" There, my honored citizen of the new kingdom," 
said Sister Martha, "now I'll send you in a hack to the 
Bureau of Statistics, while I myself return home on foot. 
How you are to get back except in the same way I 
really don't know. It might be dangerous for you to 
call a hack on my credit card, and I have not time to 
come for you. So walk very slowly and carefully ; then 
I hope you will not find the way too tiresome." 

A hack-stand was close by; we shook hands. Sister 
Martha called after me, "Good-luck with Herr Biich- 
ner." At five o'clock precisely I drove up to the Bu- 
reau of Statistics. 

I felt some little embarrassment as I entered the Di- 
rector-general's room, but my reception was so cordial 
and friendly that it instantly vanished. He was an 
elderly man of portly figure and affable manners. His 
somewhat rubicund face, furrowed by few wrinkles, and 
the comfortable rotundity of his figure by no means 
suggested a man who spent his life in making calcula- 
tions; nay, his whole manner, and gay, cheerful con- 
versation, would have indicated a person who had de- 
voted his days to pleasure and amusement. He spoke 
the agreeable Bavarian dialect, had a pair of kindly 
blue eyes, and wherever the meaning of his words al- 
lowed, was fond of ending his sentences with a resonant, 
jovial "Ha! ha! ha!" 

" Ah, I probably have the pleasure of welcoming Herr 
Ost, the man of the nineteenth century. If our laborers 



90 MB. FBEDESIOK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

hadn't discovered you, you would doubtless have lain in 
your gravel -pit till the day of judgment." And he 
burst into a merry laugh. 

" It is a strange destiny which has made me witness 
two totally diverse periods of time," I answered ; " but 
it shall be my endeavor to become a useful member of 
society in the socialist world, and if I should have the 
happiness of possessing your protection, I should always 
endeavor to do honor to your recommendation." 

" Well, the Germans of the nineteenth century don't 
appear to have been the worst sort of men — ha! ha! ha! 
— and we shall probably be able to make use now of a 
fellow who lived in those times. But we'll take the 
matter comfortably. Sit down in the arm-chair yonder, 
and let us smoke a pipe of peace together." 

With these words he drew two cigars from a case. I 
had always been excessively fond of smoking, but for 
one hundred and eleven years no tobacco had passed 
my lips, and I was now curious to learn how my mucous 
membrane would l)e afEected by it. That the weed I 
was smoking had never been very near Cuba my nose 
and tongue both told me at the first whifE ; but true to 
my intention of looking at the new world with unprej- 
udiced eyes, I did not even ask myself the question 
whether the defect in quality was due to the giver's 
taste more than to the wisdom and care of the socialist 
Government. 

After Herr Blichner had lighted his cigar he took 
his seat comfortably in an arm-chair opposite to me. 
"First, my dear Herr Ost," he said, "it affords me 
great satisfaction to give you a little pleasure. » A busi- 
ness matter took me to the chancellor's, and I availed 
myself of the opportunity to tell him about you, and the 
necessity of taking you into our service. He thought 



IN 'MR. Bellamy's world. 91 

that a certain length of time would be necessary to 
train you for manual labor. At your advanced age, 
and totally unused as you are to physical toil, this could 
only be characterized as an act of causeless inhumanity, 
and, therefore, according to his opinion, it cannot be dif- 
ficult to find useful employment for your powers else- 
where. In the present critical condition of all relations, 
it might even be valuable to know the experiences and 
opinions of a man who was taking an active part in prac- 
tical life at the very time people were discussing the 
dark side of the former system of society. It seemed 
to him particularly fortunate that this man had been an 
agriculturist, and examined things from that stand-point. 
In the socialistic State agriculture is in a special degree 
the child of sorrow." 

This appeared to me by no means a bad idea. Agri- 
culture is really a very important calling for all nations, 
and, while reading Mr. Bellamy's book, I had felt it to 
be a lamentable oversight that this branch of occupa- 
tion, and its mode of management in the new system, 
had not been mentioned by even a syllable. 

" So you see, my dear sir," Herr Biichner continued, 
" you need only travel about the country, keep your re- 
spected eyes wide open, and report occasionally to the 
chancellor, and you'll have employment which will not 
seem too diflicult for you." 

" I am greatly indebted for your kind efforts," I re- 
plied, " and though at this moment I feel a little doubt- 
ful whether I shall succeed in fully satisfying the chan- 
cellor's expectations, I willingly admit that this kind of 
occupation, in my peculiar situation, will be most agree- 
able for a time, and I assure you that I shall lack nei- 
ther industry nor care." 

" I shall willingly believe that," was his answer, "and 



92 ME. FEEDEEICK EASt's EXPEEIENCES 

you probably won't suffer from ennui — ha! ha! ha! 
There is a motley variety in the socialistic Government, 
and you will often ask yourself whether you or the 
rest of the world are crazy. But people were bent 
upon it^ and now they must drink as they have brewed. 
But to come to a practical subject. The chancellor has 
just sent me a credit card for you, with the remark 
that, to be able to work, you must have means to live. 
Though it is after the first of November, he has allowed 
the amount for two full months. An order addressed 
to all railroads and transportation offices, as well as to 
all the hotels in the various cities, for the purpose of 
furnishing you with free lodgings and transportation 
during your official journeys, will follow. So be kind 
enough to put this document in your pocket." 

So saying, he gave me a card inscribed with my name, 
and bearing the words, "Employ^ of the Chancellor's 
Office." I felt myself a man once more. The oppres- 
sive consciousness of being a mere recipient of alms, 
living only by the favor of society, gave place to a 
pleasant sense of self-reliance, as I held in my hand the 
certificate, made of the best card -board. Nay; more 
than that, as an official in the chancellor's office, I seem- 
ed to myself a person of consequence. After living so 
long on hospital diet, my physical cravings stirred once 
more, and visions of genuine Lowen beer, Hochheimer, 
and fragrant Havanas flitted before my mind. What 
was more natural than for my eye to rove questioningly 
over the figures which expressed the number of pleas- 
ures within my reach up to the first of January! I 
found the sum to be 250 marks, and, though I summon- 
ed up all my courage, it seemed as if my face length- 
ened more and more. Two hundred and fifty marks, 
divided by fifty days, gave five marks per diem, and 



m MR. Bellamy's world. 93 

with this I was to defray the expense of breakfast, din- 
ner, supper, light, heat, wine, and tobacco. Moreover, I 
was still uncertain whether, in the socialist State, a man 
could do, like Sultan Saladin, with one coat. 

Herr Blichner probably noticed the lengthening of 
my face. 

" Yes, yes, my dear sir," he said, " you are not accus- 
tomed to live on two hundred and fifty marks for two 
months, or fifteen hundred a year. But in socialistic 
society the first rule is, ' Cut your garment according 
to your cloth.' These are the beautiful advantages of 
equality — ha ! ha ! ha ! Some who formerly fared better 
are discontented at being compelled to economize, and 
othera who formerly fared worse are discontented be- 
cause they don't get still more. In the most favorable 
cases they have gained two hundred marks, but, on the 
other hand, have been obliged to give up their liberty 
and many other things to boot." 

A slight flush crimsoned my face as he spoke, but I 
speedily regained my composure. 

" We must manage as well as we can," I replied. " I 
will consider myself fortunate in being no better ofE 
than other men. It was only a momentary surprise," I 
added, with some little hesitation ; " I had expected 
something rather different — about ten times as much, 
since Mr. Bellamy — " 

" Mr. Bellamy ?" interrupted Herr Biichner. " Have 
you read that famous book ? Ha ! ha ! ha !" He burst 
into a shout of ringing laughter. " Saint Bellamy was 
deceived. This Julian West must be a simpleton who 
believes white is black and black white, and his Dr. 
Leete is the most foolish fellow I ever heard of. I met 
the old gentleman last year at the Statistical Congress 
in Philadelphia. 



94 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST'S EXFEBIENOBS 

^^ We all laughed at him, for he has a fixed idea that 
the earth has been changed to heaven. In his youth 
he read Bebel's writings, associated with social demo- 
crats, and made long speeches about how delightful it 
would be if the world could be changed according to 
Bebel's recipe. Since Bebel's socialistic society has 
now been introduced he imagines that all these fancies 
have become facts, and is delighted to find anybody to 
whom he can talk about it. 

"Every one makes fun of him. When he buys a 
new suit of clothes at a store a messenger is sent pri- 
vately to his house with it, and he is told it is magically 
delivered by a subterranean pneumatic tube. A tele- 
phone has been placed in his sitting-room, and he 
spends hours there listening to music, and believes that 
the social democrats invented the telephone. When 
it rains and the worthy Bostonians stretch screens 
from the houses to keep the sidewalks dry, it is so ^ 
dark in his room that he can neither read nor write. 
But he walks patiently up and down, rubbing his hands 
and rejoicing that the socialists have arranged things so 
delightfully." * 

During these last explanations I had involuntarily 
pushed my chair to and fro several times. I had read 
of these things in Loohing Backwa/rd^ with a certain de- 
gree of faith, and now, to my shame, found them ridic- 
ulous. I remembered having heard a telephonic mu- 
sical performance in 1890 in the Urania in Berlin. It 
was an act of Gounod's " Faust." But I had not been 
extremely sorry when it was over, and had only regretted 
that I did not go to the opera instead. That stretching 

* Apparently Herr Biichner is alluding to the suggestions made in- Be- 
bel's Woman in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The ninth edition 
appeared in January, 1891, under the altered title, Woman and Socialism, 



IN MB. BELLAMY^S WOBLD. 95 

umbrellas over the streets in rainy weather, which had 
so greatly delighted Julian West, could not be a sen- 
sible invention, because it would exclude the light from 
people's houses, became evident after Herr Blichner's 
brief remark. But I did not immediately perceive why 
it was not feasible to introduce pneumatic tubes in Bos- 
ton similiar to the ones used for letters and postal-cards. 

I expressed this doubt somewhat timidly, and spoke 
of the mechanism of the pneumatic postal delivery, and 
the magnificence of the inventive spirit whose mighty 
conquests would not suffer us to suspect to what de- 
gree machinery might yet supplant human labor. 

" Certainly, my dear Herr Ost," observed Herr Biich- 
ner, " men have accomplished marvels and may do still 
more. But you know they can hardly shake off the 
fetters of time and space. They may perhaps invent 
methods of sending much heavier articles than letters 
and postal -cards in pneumatic tubes, and it probably 
would not be too difficult to conduct such a tube to any 
single dwelling ; but to have all the thousands of tubes 
of colossal size discharge their contents into one ware- 
house at one place — a place which does not afford a 
tenth part of the requisite space — is a thing our Creator 
Himself cannot accomplish. But there is scarcely a 
folly which Dr. Leete does not imagine, Julian West be- 
lieve, and Mr. Bellamy describe. Then there is a great 
deal said about the vast treasure mankind has accumu- 
lated in the socialistic State. And how was this done ? 
By constant labor day and night? Heaven forbid! 
Work is mere pastime ; a few hours daily, and every- 
thing is accomplished by magic. If either of the three 
gentlemen had but glanced into a book of statistics to 
learn what kind of accountants they are ! All the la- 
boring force between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one 



96 ME. FBEDEEIOK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

they wish to keep at school, and all between forty-five 
and sixty-five to maintain as pensioners of the State; 
and yet they assert that society has gained immensely 
by making every one work. And there have been hun- 
dreds of thousands of people who believe such nonsense. 
Yes, my dear sir, men are very strange — ^ha! ha! ha!" 
and he burst into his pleasant, resonant laugh. 

"The gentlemen base their assertion," I remarked, 
" upon the great increase of working power which so- 
ciety has obtained by no longer maintaining soldiers, 
finding occupation for capitalists, and those who were 
formerly unemployed from lack of opportunity to work, 
abolishing the whole trading class, and enrolling its 
members in the army of workers, and reducing the en- 
tire apparatus of administration to a minimum." 

" Let us test that assertion," he said. " The military 
service claimed 1 per cent, of the population, or nearly 
two and a half of those who were capable of working ; 
we will estimate the number of the laboring population 
who were unable to find employment during a year in 
former times as being the same, which, however, is con- 
siderably in excess of the real facts, and we shall have a 
gain of 5 per cent. But on the other hand the young 
people from sixteen to twenty-one, and the older ones 
from forty-five to sixty -five years, comprise about 60 
per cent, of the industrial force.* So, opposed to the 
gain of 5 per cent, is a loss of 60 per cent, of people 



* These estimates of Herr Biichner concerning the proportion of the 
classes of the ages named to the whole number of the industrial popula- 
tion, as well as the following ones of the proportion of those formerly 
employed in trade and official positions, really seem to be very accurate. 
They can be tested easily by referring to the Annual Statistical Manual 
of the German Mnpire^ ISSY and 1888, containing the estimates of the 
census of 1885. 



IN MB. Bellamy's woeld. . 97 

capable of performing labor; that is, in other words, the 
socialistic State has retained only 45 per cent. And 
now, according to Mr. Bellamy's communications, there 
must be a reduction of at least 50 per cent, in hours of 
labor — Bebel proposed two, three, or, at most^ four 
hours in the socialistic State — ask yourself, as a man 
still in possession of his senses, whether it is possible 
that these 45 per cent, of the former working populace, 
with the hours of labor so greatly reduced, can transform 
the whole world, so to speak, into a blooming garden, 
and also produce on so large a scale that everybody can 
live like a nabob." 

" But you forget, Herr Biichner, the accession of the 
whole commercial community, and the extraordinary 
reduction of the official class." 

" Ha ! ha ! ha !" shouted Biichner. " We will sup- 
pose it to be true that all the people who were formerly 
engaged in trade, and all who were formerly employes 
of the Government, municipal, and ecclesiastical service 
were superfluous, and could be employed in industrial 
pursuits. How much would have been gained by that ? 
Under the old system 8^ per cent, of the working popu- 
lation were engaged in trade — including hotel and res- 
taurant keepers — and 5^ per cent, as officials in the 
branches named. If we add this 13f per cent, to the 
45 per cent, of the former industrial force, we shall 
have 58| per cent., and thus the considerable deficit of 
41^ per cent. But how can you suppose that this 13§ 
per cent, of the laboring force could be even approxi- 
mately saved in the socialistic State ? * True, a number 
of the smaller tradesmen and a number of the smaller 
hotel and restaurant keepers would have no occupation 
owing to the enlargement of business; but could the 

whole number of people who had hitherto carried on 
7 



98 MR. FBEDESICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

the duties of trade be removed without detriment to 
society? By no means. Not even a single one of the 
duties which formerly devolved upon the trading com- 
munity and commercial houses has lapsed; the only 
change is that what was formerly done by private indi- 
viduals on their own account is now done by officials 
in behalf of the Government. The Government is the 
manager of all commerce, and all its duties fall upon it. 
All the labor, down to the smallest detail relative to 
the manufacture and distribution of goods, which was 
formerly divided among hundreds of thousands of mer- 
chants, is now performed by the State. Long before 
the harvest time it must ascertain what quantity of 
grain is at its disposal from the inland fields, and what 
amount it must purchase. It must stretch its feelers to 
where the stores of grain may be expected, learn where 
it can buy the best and the most cheaply ; for the com- 
petition of the countries which must buy grain has not 
been diminished a whit by the s(/cialization of society. 
It must see that the packing and forwarding to all 
places is done promptly and at the right time, that 
every bale of merchandise reaches the spot where it 
is wanted. And the same energy is requisite in regard 
to supplying the cattle for the shambles, and the butter 
which must be imported for the needs of the popula- 
tion, the Southern fruits, the fodder and manure, the 
wool and cotton, and whatever else must be brought 
from abroad. This one branch of its commercial busi- 
ness requires, precisely on account of its concentra- 
tion, an amount of writing, travelling, and management 
which did not formerly exist in the thousands of small 
houses. But all this is a very minute part of the trans- 
actions imposed upon the commercial department of the 
Government. It has to provide for the payment of 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 99 

the goods purchased, and as in the socialistic State this 
cannot be done with money, a great burden arises from 
it. The State must again stretch its feelers into every 
quarter of the globe. It must ascertain where the prod- 
ucts of its labor are saleable, what articles are desired, 
how it must manufacture them to surpass other nations, 
and what their value is in the market of the world. 
When it has thus obtained insight as to what varieties 
and quantities of industrial products it needs in order 
to pay for the imported goods, it orders the Bureau of 
Labor to have all these things ready at the proper dates; 
but as soon as information is received that the articles 
have been manufactured, it must pack, address, and for- 
ward them, provide them with letters of advice, and, 
last but not least, see that in the infinite circumlocu- 
tion caused by the system of exchange among the na- 
tions, it pays in goods for the goods it has purchased. 
This is a rough sketch of the foreign trade, and I must 
beg you to tax your imagination a little in order to un- 
derstand to what extent the labor of this business is in- 
creased by having everything which was formerly done 
in many parts within narrow limits, all these parts do- 
ing a mammoth common work — though no one of the 
various portions had anything in view except the one 
function which was being performed — by having all this 
work laid on the shoulders of the Government, which 
must deal with it with due regard to the tastes, needs, 
and purchasing power of men." 

"I can well understand the remarkable burden of 
labor resting upon the Bureau of Commerce, or what- 
ever the Government office is called, whose duty it is 
to direct and arrange commercial aflEairs," I remarked; 
" but if I am permitted to interrupt, I should like to 
ask whether this one power, which has to rule the whole 



^'^'e^^^s^v 



100 MR. FREDERICK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

with a definite consciousness of purpose, does not — ^pre- 
cisely because this purpose stands so clearly before it — 
possess the ability to avoid all these irregularities which 
only too frequently have caused the most dangerous cri- 
ses, and which could ji ever be escaped so long as all who 
sought occupation in trade strove, in a certain sense aim- 
lessly, towards their special goals, paying no heed to the 
common object of commercial business ? Trade sought 
profit, and troubled itself very little whether the success 
of the individual business benefited the community or 
not." 

Herr Blichner gazed earnestly at me with his large, 
pleasant eyes. 

" Certainly," he replied, " it can avoid the least irreg- 
ularity if, like God, it is omniscient and omnipotent. 
This trifle is the sole requisite. But I suppose this 
society, socialized by Bebel's recipe, is omniscient and 
omnipotent." 

He again burst into his joyous laugh. 

" You know, my dear Herr Ost," he went on, " that 
our old mother Nature is sometimes a little troublesome 
to us men. She often seems to us inaccurate — not suffi- 
ciently exact. Sometimes it is too hot, sometimes too 
cold ; sometimes it rains too much, sometimes it is too dry. 
Yet for millions of years she has kept the universe in 
excellent condition. So, too, in the social world, things 
were often irregular. Prosperous times alternated with 
bad years : one man made money, another lost it ; some 
gained fortunes without effort, others earned their daily 
bread by the sweat of their brows. Yet it cannot be 
said that this social system did not act admirably. It 
had brought the human race to a splendid degree of de- 
velopment, and if imbecility and greed had not so often 
meddled with its workings, it would have benefited 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 101 

men still more, and they would have suffered less from 
the wide contrasts between wealth and poverty. And 
in what did this peculiar apparatus consist? It was a 
vast multitude of parts all working with tireless indus- 
try, impelled by a resistless impulse- of selfishness, but all 
held and guided with a firm hand, so that this impulse 
of selfishness became the motive power of society. From 
these opposing forces came floods and ebbs, dams and 
inundations, but Nature, with marvellous wisdom, had 
provided that all extra high waves should fall back to a 
level on which the ship of society could safely float. As 
it regulated the value of everytliing according to the re- 
lation of supply and demand, and made selfishness the 
spring of work, the result was that the balance of things 
was restored when destroyed, and that society, after 
each shock, began to grow and flourish with rejuvenated 
vigor. Now tell me, my dear sir, where socialistic so- 
ciety is to flnd the lever to rise again if a crisis should 
paralyze it ? Selfishness, it is true, lives un weakened in 
the human breast. It is an indestructible part of human 
nature. But it has been transformed to a quiescent 
force, which can probably still show its repulsive side, 
but is incapable of any creative effort. So, with each 
shock, it must sink lower, lacking strength to rise again. 
Its gradual decadence is an inevitable necessity. Or do 
you really believe that this human nature which in the 
various States is placed at the head of affairs, which 
has nothing at its disposal save human intelligence and 
human power, would be capable of directing production 
with such certainty that in no quarter of the world would 
a stoppage occur which would make the stream rise in 
all directions ? Bebel says, ' Crises will come, because 
there is no standard by which the actual demand for any 
goods can be estimated.' He should have added that 



102 MR. FREDERICK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

there is also no standard by which the actual quantity of 
the goods produced can be estimated, and he would then 
probably have perceived that in judging the needs of 
the world and the productions of the world, the offi- 
cials of the socialistic Government would succeed no 
better than did the merchants of former days, whose 
weal and woe had depended upon the accuracy of their 
judgment." 

I could not help assenting to this statement, and was 
forced to admit that, in this respect also, I had been led 
astray by Mr. Bellamy. The sphere of the world's com- 
merce is too great, and the influence of nature upon man 
is too changeful, to find an infallible standard for supply 
and demand. In other respects Herr Biichner, in all 
that he said, seemed to have read my veiy thoughts. 
That selfishness is the real spring of creative power ; that 
this creative power finds pleasure and support in the 
extension of needs, and that needs and exertion are bal- 
anced by a changeless law of nature which regulates the 
value of everything according to the relation of supply 
and demand, I had long known, and had not doubted 
for a moment, that in this mode of valuation lies the 
power of nature which holds together all the centrifugal 
interests, and renders them useful in the service of the 
community. I was no less convinced that society, if 
deprived of this stimulus of selfishness, must lose the 
conditions of recuperation after a crisis. 

" But we have wandered a little from our subject," 
Herr Biichner continued. " Hitherto I have only showed 
you the labor involved in the management of the for- 
eign trade, but home traffic causes the Government no 
less difficulty. Like the old commercial class, it must 
investigate the wants of the consumers. It must see 
that every bale of goods reaches the place where it is 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 103 

wanted, and that not one is lacking where it is sought. 
It must not neglect to stimulate demand and create 
needs, that the wares produced may find purchasers. 
Nor must it fail to collect from every nook and comer 
the apparently valueless scraps and remnants, siich as 
rags, bones, skins, etc., which are capable of being con- 
verted into articles of use. There are also the same 
duties formerly discharged by the commercial class, and 
the same number of articles disposed of by the latter. 
Can it simplify the work to have this vast business ar- 
ranged and directed from a single place ? Certainly not. 
All the thousands of auxiliary forces which have per- 
formed their work in every nook and corner of the land 
need constant communication with the central power 
which, from their reports, must form its judgment, sup- 
ply their demands, direct their labor, and control their 
duties. This requires an amount of labor unknown 
under the former system. So you seei that society has 
gained nothing by the abolition of private business ; on 
the contrary, the transmission of goods, the business of 
buying and selling requires, in the socialistic State, a 
considerable increase of the industrial force. 

"Now," he added, "we will consider this far-famed 
decrease of the public officials. How confiding and 
credulous humanity is ! Has governing and managing 
ceased in the socialistic community ? Or has the Gov- 
emment been relieved of business it was formerly com- 
pelled to transact ? True, it has no more guardianships 
to undertake, bankruptcies to manage, inheritances to 
regulate. The working power of a few thousand men 
may thus be spared. I admit that the number of law- 
suits has lessened, since the most important subject of 
litigation, property, has been abolished ; but the Govern- 
ment cannot dispense with a court of law in every city ; 



104 ME. FREDERICK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

therefore the relief is less to it than to the judges. On 
the other hand, imagine the immense burden which 
weighs upon it. It owns every foot of land, every do- 
mestic animal, all the houses, factories, machines, and 
tools, all the carts and carriages, all the craft used on 
the seas and rivers. All these kinds of capital it must 
use, direct, keep in repair, replace, and increase, to meet 
the growth of the population. It must direct all the 
work, agricultural, industrial, personal ; it must decide 
for every branch of labor, every part of the country, 
.every season of the year, what must be made and what 
industrial force is at its disposal. Imagine what a num- 
ber of higher and lower officials, stewards, overseers, 
book-keepers, and clerks it requires to accomplish all 
these things. 

" To aid you a little I will show you, for instance, what 
a new burden has grown up for the Government out of 
the mere distribution of meat. It begins in the Bureau 
of Agriculture, whose duty it is to determine, from the 
reports of the managers of the farms, how many oxen, 
calves, sheep, hogs, geese, ducks, and hens are available 
for the slaughter-house — after taking into account the 
kind and quantity of food in stock, as well as the work 
to be done in the various branches of farming — ^and at 
what seasons of the year they can be delivered. Then 
comes the Bureau of Forestry and the Bureau of Fishing, 
which regulate the amount of game to be shot and the 
number of fish to be taken from the water. All these 
reports go to the Bureau of Commerce, which has to 
determine for every part of the country the needs of 
the whole population, and what kinds of meat or fish are 
in demand at the various seasons of the year. When 
this is settled, arrangements must be made to obtain, by 
purchase from abroad, the requisite amount of cattle at 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 105 

the time desired. These are preparatory acts ; now be- 
gins the real business of providing and distributing the 
meat. After receiving notice of the arrival of a cargo 
of cattle or meat, the Bureau of Commerce must give 
directions to what province or district to send it, and 
their respective officials receive orders to determine, on 
its arrival, what villages and cities are to obtain it. 
The Bureau of Commerce is now again notified what 
additions are needed from the home production of cattle, 
and the Bureau then requests the Bureau of Agriculture 
to have them slaughtered. The Bureau of Agriculture 
now informs its district agents for the distribution of 
meats what number of the various kinds of animals shall 
be butchered, the district agents notify the individual 
farm managers, and the farm managers select the ani- 
mals to be slaughtered. When the cattle are killed the 
lower officials in charge of distributing the meat begin 
their work ; they estimate the number of pounds and 
the kinds of meat which are to be brought to the various 
shops and markets, receive daily reports of the consump- 
tion, needs, and stock, and decide what exchanges are to 
be made among the shops and markets." 

" Pardon me, Herr Biichner," I interrupted. . *' I was 
once a farmer myself, and know by my own experience 
how impossible it is to determine in advance, with any 
degree of accuracy, what quantity of meat can be brought 
to market. I cannot believe that the Bureau of Com- 
merce is capable of reaching any decision from the re- 
ports it receives." 

"Neither can I, my dear sir," replied Herr Blichner, 
bursting into his merry laugh. "The august Bureau of 
Commerce will hardly be of the opinion itself that it 
provides the world with good and cheap meat. For 
one place there is want and the people are starving ; in 



106 MR. FREDEEICK EAST'S EXPERIENCES 

another an over supply and the meat spoils. However, 
you must yet become accustomed to many peculiarities 
of the socialistic State. The management of things is 
neither very economical nor very prompt. The distri- 
bution of all other articles of use is just as complicated 
and troublesome as that of the meat. Disorder and ir- 
regularity reign everywhere. Even if men do their 
duty ever so diligently, social democracy has set the 
Government tasks beyond human ability. But you are 
now probably convinced that in the socialistic State there 
has been no saving in the number of officials. On the 
contrary, their increase has been so great that the 
amount of working power to be used in manufactures 
has suffered great diminution." 

This was indisputable, and I was forced to perceive 
that Dr. Leete had investigated this point also very 
superficially. 

" Has not production been much retarded by releasing 
men from labor at the age of forty-five ?" I asked. " Or 
is this whole story false too ?" 

" It is, and it is not. True, in so far that this release 
from labor was promised to the older people. The at- 
tempt was made in this way to incline them favorably 
to the idea of socialism, for the class of this age is spe- 
cially influential and could not be permitted to stand in 
the way of the change. At first some relief was afforded 
them, but this could not last long or the race would have 
sunk into poverty. The sixty -fifth year is now the 
legally appointed age-limit of labor, and the working-day 
of most industrial avocations and of all ages consists of 
eight hours." 

"But Julian West expresses in such extravagant terms 
his amazement at the vast increase of wealth during the 
period of his hypnotic slumber?" 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 107 

"The increase has really been considerable — no less 
than from 1800 to 1900 ; but it was obtained only by the 
old society, not by the new, which has existed but a 
short time." 

"But a short time? According to Dr. Leete, the 
change took place a hundred years ago." 

"A hundred years ago !" The old gentleman shouted 
with laughter. " No, my dear sir, humanity won't en- 
dure this sort of thing a century. A hundred years of 
socialistic Government would have made us Hottentots 
long ago." 

" But Dr. Leete relates very explicitly how, at the be- 
ginning of the twentieth century, the whole capital of 
the world had collected into the hands of very few per- 
sons, whose irresponsible caprices rendered it necessary 
to wrest it from them and place it in the sole charge of 
the Government." 

"And I tell you that Dr. Leete never put his nose 
into a manual of statistics. Otherwise he would know 
that the reverse of that is true. Doubtless the individ- 
ual business of various industrial branches was greatly 
enlarged, but the capital which created them came from 
a number of hands. It is an encouraging phenomenon 
that, among all nations where there has been progress, 
property, with the increase of wealth, has been distrib- 
uted among an increasing number of hands ; that while 
the number of capitalists augmented, the number of 
those without property diminished. This is proved by 
the statistics of direct taxation, and, above all, by the 
increasing milliards treasured in the savings-banks. In 
the Middle Ages and in ancient times the vast chasm 
between the rich and the poor might perhaps have 
given occasion for the socialization of society, but in 
the past few centuries this gulf has constantly nar- 



108 MK. FEEDERIOK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

rowed. The situation of the middle and lower classes 
became freer, more assured materially, and never did 
the relations of the various classes of the people to one 
another — especially that of the employe to the employ- 
er — offer less occasion for such a momentous overturn- 
ing of society than in the nineteenth and twentieth 
centuries." * 

This was certainly true. I knew from my studies in 
political economy that, even in my time, the develop- 
ment of society was a favorable one. Small and mod- 
erate properties were increasing, the personal indepen- 
dence of all classes was perceptibly growing, the rate of 
wages was rising, and the increasing productiveness of 
society was tending to the cheapening of all articles of 
necessity. Though the tariff policy of the nations, 
through a false conception of questions of political 
economy, had led to measures which widened class dis- 
tinctions and fostered dissatisfaction, the material de- 
velopment of society showed itself in the figures of 
statistics in such a manner that the tendency to the 
equalization of contrasts was unmistakable." 

"But what reasons induced men to overthrow the 
system of affairs which had existed for ages and grown 
up in the natural order of events to substitute for it the 
artificial one of socialized society ?" 

Herr Biichner stared at me in astonishment. " Rea- 

* Herr Biichner^s statements in this respect cannot be doubted. Much 
as was said by the social democrats in the year 1890, as well as in the 
preceding ones, concerning the increasing concentration of capital in a 
few hands, up to 1890 no trace of such concentration was to be found in 
the statistical reports, but on the contrary, the opposite state of affairs ap- 
peared with remarkable clearness. It is not to be supposed that any 
change would take place in this regard within the next decade. At least 
the movement of capital showed only evidences of facts, according to 
which a further increase in the number of capitalists must be expected. 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 109 

sons ?" he said, smiling. " There were no reasons — at 
least, no sensible ones. I mean, by that, no reasons 
which originated in the social system itself, its defects, 
or insufficiencies. A condition of universal happiness, 
such as mankind can dream or desire, a state of human- 
ity in which all enjoy an equal portion of the rarest de- 
lights, in which no one suffers want, and no one feels 
the superior power of another, was certainly no more to 
be expected from this system of society than a state 
of the world where no one suffers any lack, no one 
freezes, no one perspires, no one is ill, and no one in the 
fulness of vigor meets with a premature end. But it 
had brought the human race to a high degree of happi- 
ness and wealth, and possessed within itself sufficient 
vigor and capacity of development to alleviate the most 
crying evils and smooth the contrast between the rich 
and the poor. It would only have been necessary to 
make justice the basis of the system of government — 
that justice which abhors in equal measure the favoring 
of one class and the injuring of another — and society 
would have succeeded in securing to the workman a 
comfortable existence and the consciousness of indepen- 
dence. True, the phenomenon must have had a catcse. 
For without cause there is no effect. But it must be 
sought within the governmental rather than the so- 
cial system. As the ruling powers of all countries, 
save England, liked to endow the wealthy classes with 
privileges, and pursued a policy of customs duties whose 
purpose, though often denied, was indisputably to favor 
the small number of those engaged in commerce at the 
expense of the whole population of consumers, general 
indignation had been aroused, which perpetually in- 
creased. It might perhaps be more convenient for the 
Governments to have a small number of millionaires 



110 MR. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

than a large namber of small capitalists. But those 
who were wearily struggling for their existence did not 
consider it just to have treasures garnered for the few 
merchants by striving to raise the price of bread, meat, 
and all the useful articles produced in the country. 
The working-classes were the most imbittered, because 
their lives were the hardest and they suffered most 
from the customs policy ; but the other classes, too, 
were opposed to it, because the resentment of the labor- 
ers sharpened the class distinctions of society, and soci- 
ety desired to be at peace with the laboring classes. In 
order to conciliate the latter, the Governments had re- 
sorted to various measures which were undoubtedly 
useful, and, at any other time, would have removed the 
contrast ; but on account of their obstinately persisting 
so long in their mistaken ideas, these measures not only 
failed to effect their purpose, but even increased the ex- 
asperation of the populace. Contrasts became height- 
ened, and a passionate class hatred rendered social life 
disturbed and unpleasant. The more obstinately Govern- 
ments persisted in favoring those engaged in commerce, 
the more the rancor increased. Even educated persons 
became more and more imbued with the idea that the 
system of government was the cause of the social dis- 
comfort. This doubtless occasioned the spread of a 
belief which was most strikingly at variauce with com- 
mon-sense. Much had been done to awaken intelli- 
gence and cultivate the mind. Young people had been 
taught to penetrate the secrets of nature, but their in- 
structors had neglected the task of explaining the social 
organization of which they were members, and upon 
whose successful shaping their weal or woe depended. 
Men knew many things, but they were ignorant of the 
most important one, and only a society which had no 



IN MR. Bellamy's woeld. Ill 

suspicion of the harmony in the system of the universe, 
and could not perceive that this wonderful impulse of 
social intercourse, according to the mysterious decree of 
Mother Nature, constantly tends towards peace and 
equality so long as the ruling powers do not disturb the 
circulation of the sap with their unjust interference — 
only such a society could lapse into the error that cry- 
ing injustice could be removed solely by the overthro\«^ 
of society. This is the only explanation of a phenome- 
non which ought not to have occurred in the highly- 
cultivated period of the twentieth century. The folly 
of the ruling class was the fertilizing element of an 
error which could not possibly have found foothold had 
not rebellion against injustice and ignorance of social 
phenomena blinded clearness of vision and dimmed in- 
telligence. Now we have a system of government 
which can no longer favor the rich and injure the poor, 
but also a social system which contains the germ of 
ruin and death." 

Herr Blichner had risen, and was pacing up and 
down the room with his hands behind his back. 

" It is, however, fortunate for the human race," he 
continued, " that a century elapsed before the error be- 
came universally diffused. If the socialistic GovQfn- 
ment had been established, as the social democrats 
hoped, at the close of the nineteenth century, society 
Would have fared far worse. At that time the average 
income was not more than 8.20 marks, by the year 
1994 it had reached 1500 marks, and but for the un- 
fortunate protective policy would have attained a far 
larger sum. It is only a pity that these 1500 marks 
had not been kept. But in the new order of society 
progress has ceased — to remain stationary is impossible ; 
80 retrogression becomes the necessary consequence. I 



112 MB. FEEDEBICK EAST'S EXPERIENCES 

fear that the immediate future will experience much 
grief and misery." 

Herr Biichner paused, and taking a pipe, filled it with 
tobacco. I should have been glad to hear more ; but 
so many hours had slipped away in this conversation 
that it would have been inconsiderate to keep the old 
gentleman up longer. So I rose, expressed my grati- 
tude for the instruction he had given me, as well as his 
efforts for my amusement, and held out my hand in 
farewell. 

" Farewell," he said ; " wait for instructions from the 
chancellor's office before you make your plans for the 
journey; but meantime choose your lodgings. Berlin 
must be your home. Tou will find a Bureau of Apart- 
ments near here on Jagerstrasse ; but don't pay too 
high a rent, lest you should be forced to pinch too 
much elsewhere. Whenever you are in the capital be 
sure to call ; I am curious to know what impression the 
new world will make upon you." 

So saying, he again shook hands cordially with me, 
and I took my leave. The street was dazzlingly bright, 
and I saw Berlin in an unusually radiant eventide glow. 
What would have been more natural than to let my 
eyes wander around to compare the new Berlin with 
the old ? But my thoughts were still too busy. Herr 
Blichner's last words had strongly impressed me. They 
vividly recalled the events of the year 1890, and gave 
life to many things which had then been hopes and 
wishes. In that year an important change had oc- 
curred. The old state of things was to remain, people 
had said, but the forerunners of a new one had ap- 
peared distinctly, and the world had cherished a hope 
that politics might again enter channels which would 
lead to release from the social discord. Had that beau- 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 113 

tif ul hope been a vain delusion ? Had people expected 
to conciliate the working-classes without depriving the 
employers of the unjust advantage of the protective 
duty ? Had the young scion of the House of Hohen- 
zollem, who had taken the reins of government into 
his own hand with so bold a grasp and so just a spirit, 
omitted to say to the rich and favored members of so- 
ciety : " If you wish me to release you from the night- 
mare of social democracy, first cast forth from your 
own bosoms the more hideous social democrats, who 
cannot keep their fingers from the property of their 
neighbors." 

While engrossed in such thoughts I walked slowly 
along the street, regretting that I should no longer find 
time to read the history of those days. At the end of 
half an hour I reached the Emperor and Empress Fred- 
erick Hospital, where I was to sleep for the last time. 
8 



114 MB. FBEDEBICK EAST'S EXPEBIBNOES 



CHAPTER V. 

DBPAETUBE AND HOME-MAKINa. 

Seveeal hours passed before I found an opportunity 
to tell Sister Martha about my visit to Herr Blichner. 
A serious accident which had happened to a building 
caused several wounded men to be brought to the in- 
stitution, and she had been obliged to help the surgeons 
take care of the injured. This waiting was very tort- 
uring to me. It had become a heart-felt longing to 
talk with the one friend I possessed in the world about 
what I had gathered from Herr Biichner's bewitching 
conversation, and, moreover, another burden weighed 
upon me : I must say farewell. I was to establish my- 
self the next day in my new home, and this would 
end my daily intercourse with one who had become in- 
finitely dear to me. 

The tie which had formed between Sister Martha and 
myself was a warm and tender one — a bond of the purest 
friendship, such as rarely exists between two people of 
different sexes. Not that I was insensible to her per- 
sonal charms ; she had enough to kindle the heart even 
of a man of my age. Her figure was exquisite, and 
every movement, every word, every glance revealed a 
loving nature. Her face was not one whose symmetry 
would charm an artist's eye, but around her lips lin- 
gered an expression which denoted energy and strength 
of will, and beneath her dark brows fiashed beautiful, 



IN MR. Bellamy's woifLD. 115 

fathomless gray eyes, whose depths expressed treasures 
of love and devotion. But we two were parted by a 
gulf of years which would have rendered closer ties dis- 
cordant. I was too old to please her fancy, and she was 
too young to permit me to have that feeling of perfect 
equality which is the foundation of a true love. My 
friendship for her was deep and warm, but I should have 
considered myself a criminal had I suffered even the 
shadow of a more ardent feeling to arise in my heart. 

At last the torture of expectation ended. Sister Mar- 
tha was at 'first depressed by the great misfortune to 
which a number of worthy men had fallen victims and 
the terrible injuries she had witnessed, but after she 
had shaken this burden from her mind she listened 
with sympathy to my words. 

I now spoke of my approaching departure, told her 
how deeply I esteemed her, how warm my attachment 
had become, and that I should never cease to be her 
true and sincere friend. She was evidently moved, and 
clasped my hands. She, too, she said, felt alone in the 
world, and it was an infinite joy to find in me a person 
to whom she could open her whole heart. My depart- 
ure from the hospital must not cause a total separation 
between us. 

So a bond of friendship was established, knit by the 
closest sympathy. We promised to continue these re- 
lations. I was to seek her as often as I could, and 
when personal intercourse was impossible correspond- 
ence would supply its place. We agreed to communi- 
cate whatever was in our hearts, and neither should have 
a secret from the other. 

" I shall hold you to your word," I said, *' and I be- 
lieve I have showed you sufficiently how great is my 
need of confiding in you. I know of no important 



116 MB. FBEDEBICK EASTS EXPEBIBNCES 

event in my life which I would not trust to you. But 
what are your own feelings in this respect ? I know 
nothing of your past, and have always felt that you de- 
sired to conceal your identity, and motive for adopting, 
so early in life, a profession which, though noble and 
beneficent, is so full of sadness." 

" I am far from desiring to keep secrets from you, 
my dear friend," she replied. " On the contrary, it is 
my most ardent desire to tell you everything that affects 
my life and moves my heart. But there are matters 
to which we do not willingly allude, because they open 
old wounds. Such were the subjects which would not 
cross my lips. Yet I should not wish to conceal them 
from you, for it will be a comfort to know that you 
share my griefs. So I have a favor to ask. I have 
often, during my quiet evening hours, written out the 
experiences of the day, and thus prepared a sort of 
journal, not complete, but suflSciently explicit to call to 
mind the most important events of my life. I wrote it 
for myself only ; but I should like to give it to you, 
and have you read it, if you care to do so. I will hand 
it to you when you leave to-morrow." 

Of course I accepted the offer with delight. The 
next evening my friend's pages would occupy the first 
solitary hours in my new home. 

Sister Martha could not stay long. She was obliged 
to return to the wounded men, whom she was to watch 
during the night. She gave me a few bits of informa- 
tion which I could not have found in the journal. Her 
real name was Louise Wellner. She was the only daugh- 
ter of a school-master, who idolized her and devoted much 
time to her education. Just after her confirmation her 
father died, and, as he left no property, and her mother's 
widow's pension was very small, her guardian had ad- 



IN MK. Bellamy's woeld. 117 

vised her to enter a training-school for teachers. Short- 
ly before she was to pass her examination her mother 
died also, and the young girl deemed herself fortunate 
to obtain a position as governess in the family of the 
owner of a country estate. Her stay in this house be- 
came a turning-point in her life. During her residence 
there occurred the revolution of the social system, amid 
which, however, another event happened that exerted a 
powerful influence upon her destiny. 

So the next morning I left the hospital, not wholly 
without baggage, for I had in my pocket a credit card 
of more than 250 marks and also a precious manuscript. 

My first errand, of course, was to the bureau where 
lodgings were allotted, for if I desired to lead a settled 
life I must first of all — remembering the climate and 
the state of the weather in November — secure a place 
where I could lay my head. 

I found a pleasant elderly gentleman, who handed me 
a long list of vacant lodgings with a statement of the 
price and minute description of the rooms. The list 
contained apartments ranging from one furnished cham- 
ber at 15 marks a month, to unfurnished suites of eight 
or ten rooms at 100 marks monthly. As my object was 
to become acquainted with life in the socialistic world, 
and the manner of living is an excellent gauge by which 
to measure a nation's standard of existence, I took ad- 
vantage of this favorable opportunity of getting in- 
formation from the best source which could be oflEered 
to me. 

" In former days," I said — " I was familiar with Ber- 
lin in the last half of the nineteenth century — the dif- 
ference in price between the dearest and the cheapest 
lodgings was far greater than I see in this list. On the 
one hand, there were apartments renting for four or 



118 MB. FBEDEBIOK EASt's EXPEBISNOES 

five times as mucli as the most costly ones here, and on 
the other, very small sleeping rooms, which were con- 
siderably lower than the cheapest on this list. So the 
change to the socialistic system has exerted a very fa^ 
vorable influence here ?" 

"A great influence, certainly; but whether it is a fa- 
vorable one in all respects is doubtful. These sleeping 
places, and also the lodgings in cellars — of which I have 
read in old histories — had disappeared long before the 
great revolution. People had learned that the condition 
of dwellings is of the utmost importance in determining 
the health of the nation, and there was an energetic 
campaign against all unhealthful lodgings, as well as 
strict regulations concerning the amount of air allotted 
to each person, and, within a few decades, there was not 
only a favorable change in this respect, but one whose 
influence was felt in the needs and tastes of even the 
lowest class of the populace. Still, though it might 
have been expected that the equal division of income 
would have promoted progress in this direction, unfort- 
unately a retrograde movement is unmistakable. While, 
in consequence of this equal distribution, a number of 
people have been more favorably situated, the advan- 
tage does not appear to have led to raising the require- 
ments demanded in dwellings, but on the contrary, since 
we have had the new social system, it seems to have be- 
come more and more customary to limit the expendi- 
tures for lodgings to the least possible sum, and thd 
Government, to avoid needlessly building new apart- 
ments, is in a certain degree compelled to cut large 
apartments more and more into smaller ones." 

" That is certainly very intelligible in one sense," I 
replied. " The rich people having disappeared, no one 
is in a condition to indulge in luxurious lodgings, so the 



IN MB. BELIAMY's WOELD. 119 

% 

Government has doubtless been obliged to change large 
houses into several smaller ones. Yet I should have 
supposed that equality of income would have caused 
uniformity in the whole style of living, especially in the 
choice of residences. Above all, I should imagine that 
those who were in poor circumstances before the revo- 
lution would have availed themselves of their change of 
position to improve their situation in this particular. 
Ever since I began to reflect I have noticed that people 
who gained a larger income, as soon as they had paid 
the usual tribute to dress, set the utmost value upon the 
enlargement and increased elegance of their dwellings ; 
so I can find no psychological explanation of this phe- 
nomenon." 

" The phenomenon did not exist to the same degree 
at first, and even now it does not pervade the whole 
social strata. There will always be people who pay 
a disproportionate part of their income for rent, and 
would rather dispense with other things than restrict 
the comfort of their homes. Besides, it often happens 
that all the members of a family, grown sons and 
daughters as well as husband and wife, live together, 
and by their united incomes obtain really luxurious 
apartments. This inclination, however, is found only 
in circles where there is a domestic taste and a fondness 
for faijaily life, and the socialistic State does not foster 
the domestic virtues and family affection — ^they might 
easily engender interests which would be fatal to its ex- 
istence — and thus the nation is losing the impulse to 
consider the home the centre of gravity of existence. 
This fact appears very distinctly in the increasing fre- 
quency of the demands for the smallest bachelor lodg- 
ings. Even married couples — if that term is still allow- 
able — often ask for them. Small rooms containing a 



120 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST'S EXPESIENOES 

bed and a few pieces of furniture amply supply the 
needs which the socialistic State imposes upon domestic 
life. Such couples have no desire for an establishment 
which will cause labor and trouble. When they rise in 
the morning they find coffee-houses to supply a break- 
fast at every comer; the cook-shops furnish materials 
for lunch, which can easily be carried in the pocket. 
Then they hurry home to dress for society, and there is 
no lack of amusements until far into the night. The 
less money a person spends for lodgings and the pleas- 
ures of domestic life, the more he has for amusements. 
Therefore, to both men and women, the house serves no 
other purpose than a place to sleep." 

These explanations left me in no doubt that the stand- 
ard of dwellings had retrograded. I saw clearly that 
the fact could not redound to the moral elevation of 
socialistic society, but it also appeared to have some 
significance from the stand-point of political economy. 
The furnishing of homes had formerly supported a num- 
ber of workpeople. Whoever had a large house required 
many articles of furniture, works of art, and ornaments, 
many servants to preserve neatness and order, and gave 
numerous entertainments, dinners, etc. The disappear- 
ance of household wants, therefore, set free a number 
of workers who had formerly been employed in supply- 
ing them. Could these laborers be more useful to so- 
ciety in any other way ? Could they create in any other 
occupation things more valuable, more useful, or more 
capable of enhancing the enjoyment of life ? 

This was a question to which I could not instantly 
find an answer, since its solution required a deeper in- 
sight into social and business life. So I contented my- 
self for the present with satisfying my own need of a 
home ; and this, spite of the length of the list, was by 



IN MR. Bellamy's wobld. 121 

no means an easy matter. Yet I had not been spoiled 
in this respect. When I had a family and lived in the 
country, I had been obliged to satisfy myself with the 
quarters I found in the small and very ancient manor- 
house, which afEorded my tastes no wider play than that 
of rendering these rooms pleasant and habitable. After 
misfortune had forced me back to a bachelor life, though 
I had no luxuries, I had been accustomed to consider 
my office my world, and therefore fitted it up in har- 
mony with my tastes, so that I felt every moment the 
full charm of comfort. This I desired to secure again, 
so far as it was possible on the income secured by my 
credit card. The official proposed several suites of 
apartments, one of which I selected on account of its 
pleasant situation. It was on the third floor, contained 
a large sitting-room with two windows, whose furniture 
was sufficiently handsome for a gentleman's use, a cham- 
ber of nearly the same size, and a small room for the 
storage of fuel. It cost thirty-six marks a month — the 
highest price I thought my income would permit me to 

pay- 
Many things, however, were still needed for comfort ; 

a kerosene-lamp, a coffee-pot, a coffee-mill, a small cream- 
pitcher, and a cup ; for without them I should have been 
compelled to go to a restaurant very early in the morn- 
ing. Then there were plates and dishes, knives and 
forks, if I did not wish to be compelled to lunch and 
dine away from home. Next came a clothes-brush, a 
blacking- brush, etc., for the rent of my rooms was too 
high to permit me to apply to the Bureau of Personal 
Services to keep my apartments, clothing, and shoes in 
order. Lastly, I needed a stock of fuel. True, the 
Government would provide for the heating of the rooms 
it supplied, but it exacted a higher rental for doing so, 



122 MS. FBEDESICK EASt'^S EXPEBIENOES 

and I had no desire to give this sum, nor to make my- 
self too dependent upon it. 

My next walk was devoted to obtaining these things, 
and when, about six o'clock in the evening, I entered 
my rooms, I brought not only the articles mentioned, 
but also my supper and a bottle of beer. Meanwhile, 
however, I had become acquainted with some other 
phenomena of the socialistic State which afiEorded me 
much food for thought. While dining in a large restau- 
rant the idea occurred to me that it might be well to 
order a bottle of good Bhine wine to celebrate the day. 
Summoning the waiter, I asked for Neroberger. The 
young man was evidently puzzled. 

"Neroberger?" he asked, taking a card. "I don't 
find the name on the list. I think it must belong to the 
better kinds, which are no longer sold in this country." 

" What !" I cried, in amazement, " our splendid old 
wine is no longer sold in Germany?" 

" You know," he replied, " that since society has been 
socialized and all incomes are the same, we have no rich 
people to pay for expensive wines, and as the demand 
has nearly ceased the Government determined to sell 
only the cheaper grades in this country and export the 
more expensive ones." 

I felt as though I had dropped from the clouds ; it 
was a new idea that people in the socialistic State should 
talk of dear and cheap wines. I had formerly read in 
Bebel's work that the value of wares in socialistic so- 
ciety would not be regulated by the laws of supply and 
demand, but solely by the amount of working time spent 
in their production. Had it required more working 
time to produce good than poor wine ? 

" Why, you must be mistaken, my dear friend," I said ; 
^' the differences in the quality are the work of the situ- 



IN MR. Bellamy's wobld. 123 

ation and the sun, but these distinctions do not exact a 
difference in value. The social democrats make the 
cost depend solely on the lengtli of the work." 

The waiter frowned. 

" Matters in the social democratic State don't always 
work according to the ideas of the social democrats. 
True, it was so at first; then the best Budesheimer cost 
no more than the sourest common wine. But that soon 
came to an end. Everybody wanted the good Kquor, 
and wouldn't drink the sour kind ; and when the good 
wine was all exhausted before half the people caught 
a glimpse of it, there was a great outcry about the ine- 
quality of the distribution, and a general lamentation 
and ado all over the world. Since then the Govern- 
ment has found it wiser to distribute only the inferior 
varieties through the country, and send the fine ones to 
German East Africa." 

" East Africa !" I cried, in horror. " All our fine wines 
go to East Africa ?" 

I felt as if I were transported back to the colonial 
political struggle of the year 1890. 

" Yes, to East Africa," he replied. 

" But who is there in East Africa to drink all our 
Rhine wine ?" 

" Why, the coolies," said the waiter. 

" The coolies ?" I asked, in amazement. " How did the 
coolies get to our German East Africa ?" 

" Well, I remember the history tolerably, as I learned 
it at school. At first matters in East Africa did not 
prosper, and the Government took charge and left it to 
the management of the German East African Society. 
But this plan cost more and more every year, and there 
was no profit. After a short time the society utterly 
failed, and the Government, in order to save the many 



124 MS. FBEDEBIOK EAST'S EXPESIENOES 

millions abeady invested, saw itself forced to take charge 
of the agricultural work of the country. EvcJrything 
went well. Railroads were built throughout the land, 
the coolies were brought in large numbers, and soon 
pignuts, coffee, cocoa, maize, and cotton were raised ; 
but when several hundred millions of bales had been 
successfully packed, the coolies thought that they would 
fare better as an independent State than as a German 
colony, so they took the troops into their own service, 
and sent the imperial commissioner and all the officials 
home." 

"And the German Empire submitted?" 

" It was by no means inclined to do so. At first an 
immense fleet and a large army were to be sent there. 
Wiser counsel, however, prevailed. It was remembered 
that such a war would cost millions, ^nd the restoration 
of all that the soldiers destroyed millions more. Even 
if the undertaking were successful the colony would 
again decline, and our brave soldiers would have been 
sacrificed to the murderous climate in vain. So the 
Government let the matter rest, and contented itself 
with concluding a most advantageous contract with the 
coolies." 

" And since that time we have had a large trade with 
East Africa ?" 

"A small importation: the products of plantations 
bought with German millions." 

" But at any rate, a large exportation of German man- 
ufactures ?" 

" That's according to people's ideas. They had can- 
non and guns. The railroads were completed. The 
natives did not need much clothing, and the coolies sent 
to their native land for it. The export of brandy was 
prohibited by international contract. But every year 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 125 

we dispose of some smokeless powder, tuberculine, 
bright-colored paper, and artificial flowers." 

" But you said that our Rhine wines went there." 

"Certainly, but not until later. When all Europe 
adopted the socialistic system and money was abolished, 
no further business could be transacted with the coolies. 
The fellows wanted money for their wares, and nothiug 
but money. Then a clever travelling agent of our Gov- 
ernment succeeded in giving them a taste for our Bhine 
wine. Since that day the business has been very active. 
Our ships convey the wine there, and bring us pignuts, 
coffee, etc." 

I thought my heart would stop beating. These yel- 
low rascals, with the Mongolian eyes, enjoying the flower 
of Father Khine ! And all because that wretched no- 
tion of equality denied one the pleasure because there 
was not enough for all. But I could change nothing ; 
so the upshot of the matter was that I went home with- 
out the Neroberger. 

A few paces from the restaurant I saw a cigar-shop, 
and hoped to obtain compensation there. I first inquired 
for the ordinary kinds, and priced several varieties. 
They were somewhat lower than in former days because 
a duty had been removed, but the aroma did not quite 
suit me. 

" The tobacco Industry doesn't seem to flourish," I 
said. "The excellence of the plant which still re- 
mained, spite of all the gossip occasioned by the duties, 
I no longer find." 

" That is very probable," answered the shopkeeper ; 
" more foreign than home-grown tobacco was formerly 
used, and therefore, at least in the more expensive cigars, 
the better qualities of the foreign weed preponderated. 
But since the task of supplying the community with 



126 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST's EXPEBIENOES 

tobacco has fallen upon the Government, it is difficult 
for it to procure a medium of exchange with which to 
deal in the foreign plants. So we use more of the na- 
tional production." 

"Very well," I answered, "we must submit to the 
inevitable, and I will console myself with the reflection 
that I am smoking no worse cigars than the rest of the 
world. This evening, however, I should like to treat 
myself to something specially choice. Give me at least 
one genuine Havana, no matter how dear it may be." 

"I am afraid I cannot accommodate you," said the 
man, rummaging among a number of empty boxes. 
"The genuine ones I had have all been used, and we 
have had no additional supply." 

" You have had no additional supply? Does the Gov- 
ernment import no genuine cigars?" 

" It doesn't pay to do so ; the demand has ceased. 
Since incomes have been made equal, we have no rich 
class who possess the means for such pleasures. But, on 
the other hand, everybody has an equally good qual- 
ity." 

"So the highest goal the human race can attain is to 
have everybody so situated that no one fares worse than 
the richest member of society. Yet that seems to me 
a doubtful advantage if, in consequence, the greatest en- 
joyments are lost. Are there no longer any treasures 
of Art for sale ?" 

" Scarcely to private individuals. When no one has 
more than is required for the necessities of life, nothing 
can be spent for costly pleasures." 

"And the beautiful rugs and portieres, the costly 
vases and carvings?" 

"No doubt they can still be found in the old houses, 
but they are no longer manufactured. Why should the 



m MR. Bellamy's wobld. 127 

State have these thiogs made if there is no one to buy 
them?" 

" And the exquisite silks and velvets ?" 

" Some are still manufactured, but not in large quan- 
tities. Respectable women have not much money to 
purchase them, and we have enough for the less scru- 
pulous ones." 

I left the young man and turned my steps homeward. 

Within the past few hours a series of entirely new 
ideas had dawned upon me. Many of the wants man- 
kind had formerly cherished had entirely disappeared. 
Equal distribution of property had resulted in making 
the human race, as a whole, poorer. But, by way of 
compensation, there were no more poor men ; all had 
more than enough for their daily bread, and no one fell 
into poverty and want. The exchange, according to my 
idea, could not be so bad. It may not be necessary to 
have rich citizens who revel in luxury and extravagance, 
but it can only be a blessing that there are none who 
consume their daily bread amid tears, who are starving 
and freezing. Necessary wants have been satisfied, un- 
necessary ones abolished. I was almost ashamed of hav- 
ing cherished a wish for a bottle of Neroberger and 
an Havana cigar, and rejoiced in the happiness of the 
millions who must have profited so much by the equal 
distribution of wealth. 

Yet a pang seemed to pierce my heart; I felt as 
though this diminishing of wants could be no favorable 
presage for the future of mankind. The happy faculty 
men possessed of increasing their wants with every new 
enjoyment had undoubtedly been the real cause of the ' 
growth of wealth, for without it human intellect and 
human strength could not have perpetually devised and 
created novelties which stimulated the desires, tastes. 



128 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST's EXPEBIENOES 

and fancies of men. If, during my past, there were so 
many persons who sold their labor cheaply or sought 
work in vain, the sole cause of this phenomenon was 
that the higher wants were not sufficiently diffused. 
Will not this cause be intensified if the wants called 
into existence vanish? Will not the opportunities of 
profitable employment lessen more and more if there is 
no longer any desire for so many things which formerly 
called forth human labor i 

The question I was striving to understand was a com- 
plicated and difficult one. If I simply followed the 
conclusions of logic, a cheerless, gloomy picture rose be- 
fore me. If wants had actually diminished, the human 
race, civilization, and prosperity were retrograding. 
They had lost the stimulus which might have given 
support. A society whose fundamental basis is equal- 
ity may sink into poverty, but can never rise to wealth. 
The increase of property is accomplished by no other 
process than that which attends the growth of organic 
creatures. The animal or the plant grows by building 
its body cell by cell, as one portion after another seeks 
nourishment from the circulation of the vital fluids. 
Can a social body outgrow its limits if the fundamental 
principle of equality prevents its parts from receiving 
the nourishment which all the portions cannot appro- 
priate at the same time, and refuses to permit one part 
to rise above another ? 

But, on the other hand, had I obtained reliable proof 
that wants had lessened? Had not the gain been as 
great in one direction as the loss in another ? Had not 
the poorer people increased their wants in the same 
proportion as the richer ones, by the levelling of in- 
comes, had been forced to diminish theirs ? 

I was unable to make the comparison, and had as yet 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 129 

seen too Kttle of the world to be- able to recognize all 
the consequences which must follow the change. 

Meanwhile I had reached my lodgings, and deemed it 
better to cease prematurely racking my brains, and qui- 
etly wait to judge the facts, which could not be long 
concealed from me. 

My lamp was soon diffusing its cheerful light. I 
drew Sister Martha's manuscript from my pocket and 
experienced a thrill of pleasure when the beloved char- 
acters lay before me. Stretching myself comfortably 
on my sofa, I read with increasing interest what a beau- 
tiful soul and a dainty hand had inscribed upon the 
paper. 

9 



130 MB. FKEDEKICK EASt's EXPERIENCES 



CHAPTER VI. 

SISTER Martha's journal. 

April 16, 1993. 

I HAVE now been in my new home three days, and 
my heart is cheered by the thought that I am again at 
work and can make myself useful. It is hard to lose 
all in so short a time, and to stand alone in the world 
among strangers. But these people seem to be gener- 
ous, noble souls, whom it will be easy to love. There 
is no trace of the arrogance or the patronage which 
poor orphans are so often made to feel, but sincere sym- 
pathy and genuine kindness of heart. Herr Hormann 
is really the admirable man he was described to be — 
just and kind to every one. Frau Hormann is frugal, 
merry, and industrious, the very person for a country- 
gentleman's wife. Everybody on the farm and in the 
village appears to honor and love her. Little Mathilda 
is a good and pretty child, with excellent abiKties. 
She is fond of me, and I shall enjoy teaching her. I 
am already charmed with my new home. Meiendorf is 
a delightful place. 

May 20, 1993. 

There has been a great deal of bustle in the house 
during the past fortnight. Neighbors and other friends 
coming and going ! If we had not learned it from the 
newspapers, we should have read in the faces of the peo- 
ple that strange things are under consideration, things 
which stir the mind and stop the breath. The move- 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 131 

ment originated in America. The Society of the Apos- 
tle of Peace there gradually attracted prominent men 
from all the conntries of Europe, and a great Congress, 
attended by thousands, arrived at the bold resolution 
of calling into existence an entirely new arrangement 
of society. People long to be at peace with the working- 
classes, and are weary of seeing the insatiable selfishness 
of many large employers, and the timidity of Govern- 
ments in opposing them prevent the quiet development 
of civilization. The idea seems to find a fruitful soil 
everywhere, and the Governments, with their little party 
of large land-owners and manufacturers, watch the move- 
ment helplessly. 

May 26, 1993. 

This evening Herr Hormann took a long walk with 
us, and explained the new movement in detail. People 
want to socialize society, as they term it. That is, they 
want to rid the world of the conflict of interests, take 
the whole production, the business of agriculture, manu- 
factures, and trade, from the hands of individuals, and 
put everything under the sole charge of the Govern- 
ment. AH private business must cease, and the Gov- 
ernment is to undertake the work. As the State has 
hitherto managed the railroads, postal routes, and parts 
of other branches, it is now to manage all the property 
and all the labor. 

This seems to me a good idea, for I cannot understand 
why so many millions struggle for a bare existence, while 
labor creates commodities enough to afford all a com- 
fortable livelihood. Herr Hormann is not averse to the 
plan. He is a humane, unselfish man, and will readily 
sacrifice his beautiful estate and be content with what 
all the others have if only it will benefit the human race. 



132 MB. FBEDERIOK BAST's EXPEBIBNOBS 

But he fears that Governments will not be able to play 
the part of Providence to mankind. His wife, kind and 
benevolent as she is, likes the plan less. She thinks first 
of her children ; other interests take a secondary place. 

May 80, 1998. 

The project of socialization does not seem to meet 
with the universal favor which was anticipated. Most 
of the women are opposed to so radical a change. A 
large number of workmen rebel against having the 
money they have deposited in the savings-banks thus 
arbitrarily seized. Many mechanics and small land-own- 
ers object. They would prefer to earn less and to retain 
their independence. But the most bitter antagonists of 
the plan are the leaders of social democracy. It is said 
that they are vexed because no profit will accrue to 
them, and therefore resist an idea which they have 
always advocated. There is no hope of winning over 
the latter ; but the projectors of the movement hope to 
gain the others, and are setting every lever in motion to 
accomplish it. For this purpose Bebel's book, Wcymam, 
in the Pasty the Present^ and the Fui/wre^ is to be widely 
scattered to show people what a fortunate change they 
will make. 

June 2, 1998. 

I have studied Bebel a little. Much of his work 
pleases me. I like to have a man boldly uncover the 
defects of society, for so long as people shut their eyes 
there can be no improvement. There is no doubt that 
women often suffer sore injustice. Those who do not 
marry are forced to toil hard for sustenance or take an 
occupation which does not suit their tastes. 

But though I approve of Bebel's taking up the cause 
of oppressed women, I cannot understand from what I 



IN ME. Bellamy's woeld. 133 

/ 

have read hitherto why it should be necessary to trans- 
form the whole social system in order to help her. No 
good surgeon would cut off a man's foot because a corn 
ached. 

June 3, 1998. 

No ; Bebel is a detestable man ! He cannot have had 
the least idea of a woman's nature or her value to soci- 
ety. He must have had little comprehension of civiliza- 
tion or morality. 

I should like to know where he obtained his views of 
what benefits woman. Surely he can have had little 
acquaintance with noble-minded ones. If any of the 
men with whom I frequently associate should ever make 
such proposals for the elevation of the female sex I 
think I should be ashamed. 

He wants women to have the right to seek the men 
whom they prefer, as men have always followed their 
inclinations. If he could only force the men never to 
refuse ! Otherwise I fear no young girl will venture to 
make a man an offer of marriage. Nor can I see how 
the socialization of society is to prevent unhappy love 
affairs. That one loves and the other feels no respon- 
sive affection has happened ever since the beginning of 
the world, and will probably continue in the future, 
whether production is carried on by the State or by in- 
dividuals. But people to whom matrimony is a matter 
of calculation, not of affection, will not wed from af- 
fection in the socialistic State. If money has ceased to 
lure, objects of calculation will be sought in position, 
kind of occupation, circle of acquaintance, etc. 

Bebel's purpose in rendering women physically as 
strong as men by means of gymnastic exercises, etc., 
is incomprehensible to me. Must women become dra- 
goons ? Or does he propose to extend the principle of 



134 MB. FREDERICK EAST'S EXFBRIBNOBS 

equality to the sexes ? One difference he will probably 
be forced to permit : that men shall remain men, and 
women women. 

June 8, 1993. 

Frau Hormann's brother, Herr Albert Croner, has 
been here during the past week. He is a handsome^ 
vivacious man, with extremely polished manners, who has 
brought much gayety into the house. An engineer by 
profession, he has spent a great deal of time in ]^ngland 
and America, and his conversation about his experiences 
is very interesting. But he has also read many books, 
and seems to be remarkably well informed. I like him 
because he is always* so cheerful and enters into every 
jest. He does not favor the socialization of society ; he 
laughs at it, and it is very amusing to hear him. Yet the 
laughter does not seem to me to come from the heart ; it 
is more like an effort to conceal deep indignation. Ac- 
cording to my idea, Herr Croner is a great philanthro- 
pist and an acute thinker, and it tortures him to per- 
ceive that men are on the point of taking a step which 
he believes will result in the destruction of all prosperity 
and civilization. 

Meetings for the discussion of the momentous ques- 
tion are now of almost daily occurrence. Herr Hor- 
mann attended one yesterday, and returned home de- 
pressed and sad. He thought the number of those who 
were really persuaded was not yet very great ; people 
had often shaken their heads doubtfully when a speaker 
had urged the advantages of the socialistic State too 
emphatically. But it was a bad sign that there was no 
serious opposition from the masses, and that no speaker 
who attempted to defend the existing order of society 
received the least applause. There is too much dissat- 
isfaction existing among the people because every one 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 136 

is forced to pay tribute from his hard-earned wages to 
tlie great land-owners and great manufacturers, and the 
latter are still allowed political privileges. He fears that 
it is but a step from this discontent to the support of 
the new plan. 

June 15, 1993. 

We have taken long walks almost daily during this 
delightful weather. Herr Croner was always one of the 
party and always very gay. I cannot conceal from my- 
self that he grows daily more dear to me. I. feel as 
though something was missing if he is not present. 
He is a thoroughly sincere man with a noble nature. 

Yesterday evening I went out a moment to enjoy the 
moonlight. A wonderful radiance flooded the fresh 
green foliage. Suddenly Herr Croner stood beside me? 
jestingly reciting the " Magical Moonlit Night." Then 
he said, " I don't know what is the matter with me 
now, Fraulein Wellner. Every evening when I see the 
moon I ask but one question. Have you no question 
to put to the Man in the Moon ?" I did not know what 
to say, but I had not the courage to ask him what he 
desired to learn from the moon. 

June 18, 1993. 

The strangest news comes daily from America. There 
must be great excitement there. People seem fairly fren- 
zied. Since the year 1000, when in the old days men, fear- 
ing the end of the world, bequeathed their property to the 
Church, and devoted themselves to praying and psalm- 
singing, there has never been such contempt for earthly 
possessions. "Whatever can be turned into money is sold 
for the smallest sums, and people who have money in 
their pockets try to invest it in amusements or in things 
which need not be relinquished after the transformation 
of society. Business at the Stock Exchange has ceased. 



136 MB. FBEDEBICE EAST^S EXPEBIENCES 

June 19, 1993. 

Yesterday evening — ^it seems as though I could not 
hold my pen — I became engaged to Albert Croner. Oh, 
what happiness ! If only my parents had lived to wit- 
ness it! We went to walk in the garden at twilight. 
The evening was marvellously beautiful, and the spell of 
an infinite magic thrilled my breast. My Jieart throbbed 
till my breath almost failed. Conversation flagged. Al- 
bert was more gentle than usual, and his voice some- 
times faltered. Suddenly, in the hazel alley he stopped 
and clasped my hand. " Louise," he said, in a tone 
which I shall never forget, " it must be said at last. I 
love you and cannot live without you. May 1 not call 
this little hand and your noble heart my own?" I 
don't know what I said to him, or whether I said any- 
thing at all. I sank into his arms, overwhelmed with 
happiness and joy. 

After some time we entered the sitting-room, where 
the family had gathered. I sat in a corner, unable to 
utter a word. "When I went to my room Frau Hor- 
mann followed, embraced, and kissed me. 

June 22, 1993. 

My happiness knows no bounds. How delightful it 
is to love such a man ! I desire to live for him alone, 
serve him, and find in him the support of my life. The 
goal of my existence lies clearly before me, steeped in 
sunlight ; and where can there be a fairer vocation than 
to make a pleasant home for a beloved husband, and 
drive the clouds of depression from his brow ? 

How beautifully morning follows night! I no longer 
feel that I am a desolate orphan, but see the world 
illumined with the radiant light of hope. Ah, if I could 
only tell my parents how happy I am I 



\ 



IN ME. beliamy's world. 137 

June 28, 1993. 

The frenzy seems to be invading Europe. In Eussia 
the peasants are leaving their villages, and roving through 
the land shouting and carousing. All the magistrates are 
flogged, amid demands for the return of the money of 
which they have robbed the people. In France men 
and women embrace one another in the streets, and rave 
about the kingdom of equality and justice. The Ger- 
mans, too, seem to have lost their senses. Those hitherto 
doubtful have ceased their opposition, and the idea is 
beginning to gain the upperhand that the welfare of 
humanity depends upon having no capital and no spec- 
ulators. Thoughtful people shake their heads, but they 
are cowardly and silent. 

Albert says that men have gone stark mad, but that 
is nothing new under the sun. History is rich in in- 
stances that cultivated nations have been dominated by 
absurd ideas, and no age has lacked men who, though 
talented and clever, have believed the most ridiculous 
rubbish. But whenever whole nations have been swept 
along by a foolish movement, the inciting cause was al- 
ways the extravagance of the class specially favored by 
the possession of wealth and intelligence. 

England alone seems to be still free from the infec- 
tion. Albert says that it is because the development 
of the nation has been an untrammelled. and quiet one, 
and because the Government has not made consumers 
pay tribute to speculation. Yet, unfortunately, England 
would be drawn into the vortex too. One sensible per- 
son cannot hold his ground amid a throng of fools. 
Strive as he may, folly is always contagious. 

July 7, 1993. 

A new International Congress has been summoned. 



\ 



138 MR. FREDERIOK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

The nations want to agree upon the measures by which 
the old social system is to be transformed into the new 
at the same time and in the same way. The session will 
commence on the 15th. 

July 17, 1998. 

The Congress has met, the debate is in progress. All 
the newspapers are full of it. Apparently this time 
there will be no delay due to many speeches, for there 
is no room in the assemblage for any wide differences of 
opinion. After an impressive opening address from the 
President, an old social democrat of the purest water, one 
of those who are very angry because the movement has 
grown beyond their control, replied. He warned his 
hearers against following any model or copying anything 
which had previously existed. They must follow the 
lofty words of Liebknecht, that the Government of the 
present must grow into the Government of the futv/re. 
But such roars of laughter greeted him that he could not 
say another word. Some one replied that a more foolish 
saying was never uttered, for it would be impossible for 
things which did not bear the slightest relationship to 
grow into one another. The socialistic Government was 
the very opposite of the present one; there was not the 
slightest thing in common. That private business should 
develop into Government business, and private proper- 
ty into Government property, was as impossible as for 
oil to become water or oxygen quicksilver. If people 
wanted a socialistic State there was but one way of get- 
ting it: a law must be passed abolishing property, de- 
claring the Government sole possessor of everything, 
forbidding men to render each other services, and mak- 
ing the whole industrial force subject to the Govern- 
ment. This was recognized as the only possible plan, 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 139 

and it was resolved to render it the foundation on 
which to consult concerning the measures to be adopted. 
This seems to be perfectly logical and just, but I 
think the question first to be considered was whether 
this complete contrast to the existing Government is 
really capable of preserving the life of society. The 
contrary might easily happen. If one fills a lamp with 
water instead of with oil there is no bright flame. 

July 18, 1993. 

At the second session of the Congress a leader of the 
social democracy again came forward. He uttered an 
impressive warning against making the whole change at 
once. People should content themselves with trying 
single measures in order to glide into a government of 
the future d la Liebknecht. Drawing out an old pam- 
phlet of the year 1891,* he moved to follow its suggest- 
ion of at first depriving only the owners of large manu- 
factories of their property, compensating them by the 
issue of bonds bearing no interest, and abolishing the 
right of heritage in the case of large fortunes. On the 
other hand, agriculture was to be carried on by means of 
agricultural societies of the small farmers, and manu- 
facturing was to be managed by unions. But this 
speaker, too, aroused general disapproval. People said 
that ^compensation by bonds which could not be inher- 
ited would be no compensation — merely a life pension. 

A second speaker earnestly exhorted his hearers against 
any recognition of the duty of compensation. To grant 
that there was no actual right to^ transfer private prop- 

* This must be an allusion to Curt Falk's pamphlet, published early in 
1891 : EfforU of Social Democracy^ illumined by Eugene Rickter's Ravings^ 
a work which follows the usual tactics of the social democrats, who dis- 
semble their real purpose as soon as it is grasped. 



140 ME. FREDERICK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

erty to the Government was to deny the legality of the 
Government of the future. Only by the promulgation 
of the idea that everything in the world was the com- 
mon property of all mankind could the socialistic Govern- 
ment be placed on a legal basis. Besides, it would be 
impossible to draw the right line between the owners of 
large and small establishments. 

A third speaker protested that to conduct agricultu- 
ral and maufacturing enterprises in common would be 
jumping out of the frying-pan into the fire. Better let 
everything go in the old way, for all such societies and 
unions would speedily be at variance with one another. 
Some would prosper better than others, so there would 
speedily be rich and poor again. The continuance of 
the social system according to the socialistic principle 
would be endangered if any chance existed by which 
one individual could obtain more than another. The 
nature of all property is to increase rapidly, and people 
would never be at rest if any one had an opportunity to 
become, by greater prosperity, superior to his fellows. 

Therefore, at this session, it was resolved that, on a 
certain day to be appointed later, all property should 
be declared the property of the nation, and, as such, be 
taken into possession by special oflScials. On that day 
each individual should be allowed to retain only the fql- 
lowing articles : all kitchen and dining-room furniture, 
empty casks, and other utensils for the preservation of 
food, all the furniture and ornaments of rooms, with 
the exception of those composed of gold, silver, or pre- 
cious stones, also the clothing each person has on that 
day, but with empty pockets, and with jewelry excepted, 
and, finally, the supply of food and drink necessary for 
support during the first week of the new Government. 
From the beginning of the second week^ however^ save 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 141 

the articles exempted, the individual can own nothing ex- 
cept what he obtains by purchase from the Government. 

According to the newspaper reports, there was a long 
debate over this resolution, but it was finally unanimous- 
ly adopted, because people were all convinced that the 
socialistic Government could be established in no other 
way. A proposal to use the words "property of so- 
ciety," instead of "property of the State," was voted 
down because, in the socialistic community, the ideas of 
State and Society were identical. 

My fear is that most of the people will hide provi- 
sions and articles of clothing, and there will be numer- 
ous informers, legal investigations, and punishments. 

July 19, 1993. 

At the third session it was agreed that all money 
and all uncoined gold and silver should be walled up in 
buildings proof against thieves and fire, retaining only 
a certain quantity, to be determined later, for the manu- 
facture of jewelry, and for use in the arts. This amount 
is to be fixed every five years by an International Con- 
gress, according to the demand. Gold, silver, and gems 
can be obtained by mining, etc., only in such quantities 
as they are needed for ornaments and use. in manufact- 
ures. Gold, silver, and gems found must be delivered, 
on pain of punishment, to the Government of the coun- 
try where the discovery was made, but the amount fixed 
for use in the arts and in jewelry must be deducted. 
The importation of gold, silver, or gems from countries 
which have not joined the League of Socialized States 
is prohibited. The precise definition of what would be 
classed as gold, silver, and precious stones would have to 
be determined by an international congress of natural- 
ists. In case of contravention, each separate State would 



142 MB. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

be subject to a penalty consisting in the delivery of its 
produce gratis to all the other States, according to their 
population. The amount and nature of the goods will 
be fixed in all cases of dispute by an international court 
of arbitration. 

On the seventh day after the socialization of society 
every citizen who has attained the age of twenty-one 
will receive a credit card representing the value of all 
goods and services, ascertained by the statistics of the 
last three years, divided by the number of those entitled 
to credit cards. These are arranged so that all possible 
sums required for the purchase of goods, or the use of 
other services of the Government, can be cut off with 
coupon shears. The method of arrangement and the 
fixing of the value of the credit cards are regulated by 
each Government. The sum will be fixed each succeed- 
ing year by the total value of the wares and services 
available for consumption during the previous year. 
The credit cards can be used in foreign countries only 
in cases where the Government issuing them explicitly 
states that it will pay for the wares and services in other 
goods acceptable for exchange. 

The valuation of the wares and services given by the 
State to the holders of the credit cards is fixed by the 
Governments of the various countries according to the 
standard of money which was legal currency in them 
before their socialization. The length of time requisite 
for the production of an article must be, as far as possi- 
ble, the standard of valuation, unless influenced by spe- 
cial circumstances, such as too large or too small a de- 
mand on the part of the public, or consideration for the 
saleability of other wares. 

^ In international commerce no exchange of goods 
takes place except between the Governments them- 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 143 

selves, and all disputes are settled, like the determining 
the consumption of gold and silver, by an international 
council. The valuation and reckoning of the exchanges 
made between the Governments are by an international 
syndicate. 

My brain fairly whirled when I had read all this, but 
one point in the whole debate is clear — without these 
conditions the socialization of society would be impos- 
sible. 

July 20, 1993. 

No conclusion has yet been reached concerning the 
subject of the fourth session. The debate was upon 
the organization of labor. The leaders of the social 
democrats again sought to put in a wedge, and brought 
forward the old commonplaces they always have at 
hand whenever their ideas are seriously considered. 
This time it was Friedrich Engel whose words they 
quoted : " The concerted orgcmization of the com/mon 
production of society is a bound of the human race 
from the realm of necessity to the realm of liberty.^^ 
They maintained that it could never lead to liberty to 
have the State direct the labor of the community, be- 
cause that would impose the utmost constraint upon 
the individual. They therefore demanded that each 
branch of production should have the right to organize 
its own labor. But they were energetically routed by 
the reply that a socialistic Government in which all the 
labor was not managed by the organs of the State would 
be like the knife with neither handle nor blade. If the 
people were unwilling to commit the whole production, 
down to its minutest details, to the guidance of the 
State, it would be better to let matters pursue the old 
course, in which the individual was not dependent upon 
the State, but had to 8u£Eer the consequences if his 



144: MB. FBEDEBICE EAST's EXFEBIENOES 

work did not supply the needs of society. On the 
other hand, the individual, being protected by the so- 
cialized Government, must submit to having his labor 
directed by the State and not by the special branch of 
industry to which he belongs. It was added that, with- 
out Government management, there might easily be a 
lack of the goods on whose exchange the nation must 
depend for obtaining the most important commodities 
from other countries. 

So the principle that the whole labor of the nation 
must be under the direction of the Government was 
readily settled. And the second — every citizen is under 
obligation to work for the State — followed no less easily. 

Wide differences of opinion existed concerning the 
further question, whether each person should choose his 
or her occupation or whether the State had the right of 
allotting it. Some said that to empower the Govern- 
ment to dispose of the labor of every individual would 
be carrying compulsion too far. There was no reason 
to do so, for tastes vary so much that the interests of 
the community would be fully satisfied by letting every 
one choose the avocation suited to his skill and prefer- 
ence. 

But others opposed this view. There were too many 
pursuits, they said, which had extremely disagreeable 
features, and no one would undertake them unless in a 
certain sense forced to do so, or urged by the prospect 
of unusually high wages. People were fond of compar- 
ing the universal duty of labor to the universal duty of 
defence, so let them be consistent. If, granting the uni- 
versal duty of defence, individuals were permitted to 
choose their weapons, many would doubtless select the 
cavalry, few the infantry. In the same way, to allow 
free choice of avocation in the general duty of labor 



IN nitR. Bellamy's world. 145 

would lead to a surplus in the pleasanter and cleaner 
pursuits, while others would show a deficit, and the fun- 
damental principle of the direction of the industry of the 
community by the State would be an empty sound. 

Both views were eagerly discussed, and it almost 
seemed as if the disagreement on this point would frus- 
trate the whole project. After a six hours' debate, the 
presiding officer closed the session and made the contin- 
uance of the discussion the order of the day at the next 
meeting. 

July 21, 1998. 

At the fifth session this point also was ispeedily brought 
to an amicable conclusion. Shortly before it opened the 
following proposal was made: The choice of employ- 
ment is the affair of the individual. But if, contrary 
to expectation, the mishap occurs that some occupations 
have a surplus and others a lack of industrial force, the 
Government is empowered to adopt certain measures to 
remedy the evil. The mover of this resolution stated 
that it satisfied both parties. On the one hand, it saved 
the Government from lacking the means to direct pro- 
duction for the advantage of the community, and, on the 
other, it avoids needless constraint of the individual. 
Whoever was of the opinion that society could permit 
freedom of choice could accept the resolution without 
demur, and whoever feared the contrary would find in 
it an ample remedy. This statement was not contra- 
dicted, and the resolution was unanimously adopted. 

The discussion of the second subject, the educational 
and school question, revealed that different needs existed 
in the various countries, and the conclusion was soon 
reached that there would be no danger of coming into 
collision with the customs, morals, and educational ne- 
cessities of the different nations if the same rules were 

10 



146 MB. FBEDEBICK EAST'S EXPEBIENCES 

adopted for all Governments. It was therefore deter- 
mined to leave each country to direct and arrange its 
educational system in the manner which seemed, accord- 
ing to the degree of culture and the views of the people, 
the method best adapted to the wants of socialized society. 
A third question, woman's position in the State and 
the child's in the family, was dismissed as not yet ready 
for judgment. It was deemed better to obtain a deeper 
insight into this important matter by means of discus- 
sions in the press and public meetings. January 2, 1994, 
was appointed as the date when the socialistic system 
should be introduced, and the President closed the ses- 
sion with thanks for the labor of the Congress. 

*^ July 22, 1993. 

Albert has been absent on a long journey, and did not 
return till noon yesterday. Towards evening we took a 
long walk, and our talk turned upon the social question. 
Albert said that, considering the great folly which had 
seized upon mankind, it could not be denied that the 
Congress had acted very sensibly. In no other way 
would it have been possible to establish the socialis- 
tic Government. But he was sorely annoyed and de- 
pressed — he called it a disgrace to our age of civiliza- 
tion and intelligence — that no better solution of the 
social problem could be found. 

The principal fault lay with the favored classes, not 
the workmen. It was a bad condition of affairs that so 
high a degree of culture could not enable men to shake 
off their inherited prejudices. But this society, in 
which we live and of which we are members, sees no 
one save through the spectacles which the prejudices of 
class, education, and interests put on. Class prejudice, 
especially, makes the cleverest people fools. 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 147 

I listened with delight. There is nothing in the 
world more noble than an unprejudiced man. And 
how thoroughly he was in the right in everything ! All 
these prejudices cause the land -owner, the manufact- 
urer, the mechanic, the merchant, the scholar, the labor- 
er, to hold totally different views of society, its aims, 
and its life. Yet there is reason for it. The schools 
have filled our heads with knowledge, but they have 
not suflSciently instilled the real purpose of all educa- 
tion, the war against our prejudices. 

July 24, 1993. 

I asked Albert to-day whether there was no possibil- 
ity that men in the socialistic society might advance 
along the path-way of prosperity. " Imagine an oak in a 
flower-pot," he said, "and ask yourself whether it can 
grow and put forth branches while its roots lack room. 
If the human race is deprived of the impulse of gain, and 
the desire to accumulate property, it is robbed of the 
very powers whose purpose is to obtain nourishment." 

July 27, 1993. 

Since the Congress has performed its main task, no 
check is possible. People talk of nothing but the so- 
cialization of labor, as they formerly discussed the 
weather, and the land-owners go about with long faces. 

July 29, 1993. 

The status of woman and children is now being dis- 
cussed. The opinion that woman has equal rights with 
man as a member of society is gaining ground. There- 
fore she must receive an equal portion of the general 
income. This, however, requires her to devote her 
powers, like him, to the production of goods. 



148 MB. FBEDBBIOK EASt's BXFEBIENOES 

Theoretically, this may be no bad idea, but I don't 
know who is to attend to the house-keeping, and pro- 
vide for the children, if women are confined in the 
workshops. 

August 1, 1998. 

Socialism has a provision for everything. It con- 
quers obstacles by simply pushing them aside. I be- 
lieve, had social democrats lived before the discovery of 
navigation, they would have thought of draining the 
ocean before building ships. If house-keeping and rear- 
ing children are an obstacle to the equalization of the 
sexes, they abolish the duties of the house-keeper and 
the mother. Family life is to be transferred to dining- 
rooms and restaurants, and children are to be reared 
and educated in Government institutions. Equality is 
a beautiful thing ! Everything must be regulated ex- 
actly according to Bebel ! 

August 4, 1993. 

To-day I found in the paper an article which exactly 
expressed my own feelings. The writer warned people 
against carrying the principle of equality to extremes. 
Woman cannot be made happy by depriving her of her 
natural vocation, and, moreover, thereby robbing the 
world of the infinite benefits derived from the feminine 
nature and feminine self-sacrifice. Woman's quiet do- 
mestic industry has also contributed to the establish- 
ment of prosperity and the progress of civilization, and 
humanity will be thrust from the height it has attained 
if woman is assigned to an unfamiliar sphere of labor. 
Equality can be obtained by aiding the married people 
to support their children. 

That is my opinion, too. Let woman remain the 
mother of her children, the care-taking wife of her hus- 
band. If a few women miss their vocation because 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 149 

they do not marry, or are unhappy in their marriages, 
seek relief for them, but leave to the sex what is right- 
fully its due. 

August 1j 1998. 

The recent article in the papers has drawn forth nu- 
merous answers. Among them many are irrelevant, 
many mere nonsensical babble. But unfortunately there 
are also many whose sound sense cannot be denied, and 
I fear, as the current is now setting, that they will gain 
the victory. The reasons adduced for intrusting the 
rearing of children to the Government are as follows : 

The socialization of society will place the human race 
in an entirely different region from that in which it has 
hitherto developed, and it must therefore strive to adapt 
itself to it, as plants do when taken from the mountains 
to the plains, from heavy to light soil. It is a peculiar- 
ity of the socialistic Goyernment that it no longer di- 
vides society into men and women, but imposes upon all 
its members, without distinction of sex, the same condi- 
tions of existence. People cannot accommodate them- 
selves to this peculiarity if they continue to maintain 
the arrangements which prevent women from giving to 
society what it demands and receiving what is their due. 
A woman who avoids the universal duty of labor be- 
cause she is keeping house for her husband and rearing 
her children, will prove a source of discord in every di- 
rection. She will become a burden to her husband, de- 
stroy the universal conditions of existence, and check 
the action of the fructifying power of socialism, the 
equal distribution of the goods of this world. A man 
who receives from the total production of labor the por- 
tion to which he is entitled as a man and a laborer, but 
who has to maintain with this portion not only himself 



150 MR. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

but a wife and six or eight children, is not a peer 
among his peers, but a sorely oppressed creature who un- 
doubtedly, by his numerous children, renders the great- 
est service to society, but who has no share in the ben- 
efits they will bestow. 

If the proposal is made to give to every father, for 
every child, a certain claim upon the productions of so- 
ciety, which must be acknowledged as an eflEort to solve 
advantageously and according to a just estimate an ap- 
parently difficult problem, closer examination will show 
that the plan cannot compass its object and is wholly 
impracticable. If the suggestion is intended to provide 
means to defray the board of each child, the estimate 
must be sufficiently large to provide for delicate chil- 
dren, who require more food, clothing, and shelter. But 
in that case the fathers whose children possessed strong- 
er constitutions would have an unfair advantage, because 
they would require less expenditure, while on the other 
hand, by small services, trifling earnings, and the per- 
formance of household tasks, they would reap from their 
children many advantages over others. Thus in avoid- 
ing Scylla they would encounter Oharybdis. In the at- 
tempt to escape inequality, fresh sources of inequality 
would be evoked ; but the economical eflEect which 
would result from such a payment of board would 
weigh even more heavily in the scale than the pre- 
vious objection. The number of children under fifteen 
amounts to 35 per cent, of the whole population ; that is, 
with the present number of inhabitants of the German 
Empire, to thirty-five millions.* 

* The population of the German Empire increased from 1870 to 1886 
on an average 92 per cent, annually. In 1886 it was 46,866,704 per- 
sons, and at the same rate of increase would have reached 96,428,294 
in the year 2000. If, according to the above estimate, it was reaUy 



IN ME. Bellamy's world. 151 

If a rate of only 300 marks was paid — the smallest 
sum allowable — ^it would amount to 10^ milliards, while 
one-half would amply suffice if the support and educa- 
tion of the children were provided in Government in- 
stitutions. Society would thus sustain a loss of more 
than five milliards ; and as, moreover, millions of moth- 
ers who would have to care for children under five years 
old could not only produce nothing for society, but must 
draw their support from the general fund, the rearing 
of children in families would cause a total loss to society 
annually of six and a half to seven milliards of marks, 
which would be more than could be endured. So it is 
evident that this point, too, must be arranged to suit 
the nature of socialized society. If it is hard for many 
mothers to be separated from their children, they must 
remember the physical and intellectual delights the new 
Government affords, and that they will thus attain the 
dignity and freedom which, according to Bebel, has 
never been their lot as social slaves. Even the senseless 
brute soon recovers from the loss of her young ; how 
much easier it will be for a woman, who has the power 
of reasoning, to accommodate herself to the inevitable. 

My blood fairly boiled when I read all this. It may 
be practical and logical, and I, too, believe that the ex- 
istence of the socialistic State would be imperilled by any 
other course. But I also know that I no longer value 
the human race if it accepts such abominable folly. 

August 9, 1993. 

Yesterday evening the conversation turned upon our 
marriage. Frau Hormann asked whether we had as yet 
fixed any date. We had often discussed the matter, but 

100)000,000, this additional increase would appear to be due to the bat- 
tle against the bacilli. 



152 MR. FREDEEIOK EAST^S EXPERIENCJES 

in the present condition of aff^i,^ no plans can be formed 
for the future. Albert has been trying to get the posi- 
tion of manager of one of the large factories, and as 
soon as he obtained it we were to have been married. 
But since the great revolution has been anticipated, no 
such position is possible. Business is almost at a stand. 
No one thinks of new enterprises, and no one will dream 
of making improvements in old ones. Herr Hormann 
said that, as soon as the new order of things was settled 
Albert must seek a situation in a large Government es- 
tablishment. His ability was so well known that the 
State would be glad to secure such assistance. Albert 
agrees with him, and says if he can once get a place 
suited to his taste the magistrate can unite us immedi- 
ately. But he jestingly estimated what a fine exchange 
he would make. Hitherto he had received a salary of 
6000 marks ; henceforth he must be content with the 
payment allotted to every workman who did nothing 
but hammer and file according to the models and draw- 
ings he had worked out with severe mental toil. 

This is the least thing that troubles me. I have but 
one desire — ^to be Albert's wife. Everything else is a 
minor matter. I would go with him to the end of the 
world, though the road led through thorns and thistles. 

August 11,1998. 

The question of the rearing of children continues to 
be eagerly discussed, and women also mingle in the de- 
bate. An authoress — she is said to be old, ugly, and 
thin, but very fond of men — lately marvelled at the 
narr6w-mindedness of her sex. It would be foolish to 
imagine that every mother would rear her child best. 
The Government institutions would have the most tal- 
ented educators, and every woman ought to be glad to 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 153 

know that her child was in such hands, and that she 
herself would have no obstacles in the way of enjoying 
life. 

The world is in a bad way. People don't read what 
sensible persons write, while the most foolish trash is 
eagerly devoured. 

August 12, 1998. 

This morning a number of colts which Herr Hor- 
mann had bought at the fair arrived at the estate. They 
were shut up in a paddock, and the grooms rode oflE 
with the mares. It was reaUy a pitiful sight. When 
the colts saw their mothers go away they grew fright- 
ened and dashed wildly about, while the poor mothers 
neighed mournfully for them. 

And that is the way they want to treat human beings 
in future ! O foolish, brutal world ! What will be my 
calling as Albert's wife ? My heart fairly stops beating. 
The thought is enough to drive one mad. 

September 8, 1993. 

Herr Hormann has taken a long journey with Albert 
and me. We have seen many beautiful things and met 
many people. I have often talked with the peasants, 
and grew more and more convinced of the good which 
exists in these warm hearts. I became attached to most 
of them, and like to recall them to mind. I noticed 
how fondly they all loved their children. Good friends 
became bitter enemies because there was gossip con- 
cerning the daughter of one family and the son of an- 
other, and whenever I treated the little ones kindly I 
instantly won the parents' hearts. My greatest pleasure 
was to walk through the village streets on the evenings 
of holidays. There were the prettiest pictures every- 
where. Everybody was out-of-doors. The men were 



154 MB. FEEDERIOK EAST'S EXPERIENCES 

smoking their pipes and holding the children in their 
laps, while the mothers were knitting stockings. 

And this pure and lofty joy was to be abolished from 
the world ! And for what ? To have castles and pal- 
aces? To have crowns and sceptres? The socialists 
say : for law and justice. Albert declares : for the sake 
of envy and malice. He has calculated that the whole 
result of socialization would be that the most poorly paid 
laborer would gain 200 marks a year. So 200 marks' 
worth of feminine finery, brandy, and beer outweighs the 
noblest happiness which can fall to the lot of humanity! 

October 6, 1998. 

Matters steadily pursue their course. The Congress 
has met again and, as it states, has put the roof on the 
socialistic structure. After a short debate the last point 
of dispute has been settled by a sort of compromise. 
All mothers are to give birth to their children in hospi- 
tals, and to remain as long as the infants require nurs- 
ing. Then the wives will return to their husbands, and 
the children will be fed, educated, and trained by the 
State. All children bom before January 2, 1994, can 
remain with their parents, but the latter are entitled to 
intrust them to the Government for support and edu- 
cation. 

So all hope is over. If I have hitherto cherished any 
doubts, they are at an end. Socialization will be the de- 
struction of the civilized world. 

All objections were thoroughly discussed during the 
debate, and in truth there was no speaker who did not 
admit the dark side of this arrangement. But the rea- 
sons of State conquered. The family has no place in 
the socialistic Government, and no room can be allowed 
for interests other than those of the State. If men had 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 155 

the cowardice to shrink from this last result, they would 
'be forced to remedy the omission later, and then society 
would be divided into parties. People comforted them- 
selves by saying that men became accustomed to every- 
thing, and that the pleasures of life in tha new State 
would make parents forget their grief. 

November 10, 1993. 

Preparations for the change commenced early this 
month, that everything may be ready in time. Inven- 
tories are being taken, stocks appraised and entered in 
books. But the belief is that it will be impossible to 
complete so gigantic a task in so short a period. 

November 27, 1993. 

A glazier from the city has been at work in my room 
to-day. He seemed to be very angry about the social- 
ization, and said that the Government would have a great 
deal of work immediately. No one knew anything about 
repairs, and as soon as January 2d came all machines and 
implements would almost need remaking. 

December 10, 1993. 

I have long been racking my brains to decide what 
vocation T should choose in the socialistic Government. 
There will be no teachers in private families, and I have 
neither the taste nor the skill to teach in a school. My 
wish is to be of real service, and it seems to me that 
there is no way in which I can make myself of greater use 
than by selecting the one against which socialistic society 
is most prejudiced. I will apply for the position of nurse 
in a hospital for children. 

December 20, 1998. 

My desire seems on the eve of fulfilment. Herr 



r 

156 ME. FREDERICK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

Blichner, an old friend of my father, who for years has 
been at the head of the Bureaa of Statistics, has interest- 
ed himself in my behalf, and writes to-day that I may 
consider my appointment in the children's hospital se- 
cured. 

December 22, 1998. 

Albert's excellent recommendations have ako proved 
successful in obtaining a position. He will take charge 
of a large machine shop on January 2d. 

Our wedding must be deferred a short time longer, 
until we have both worked in our new sphere. I don't 
know why I dislike to think of my marriage. It seems 
as though I had lost all pleasure in it. Yet my love is 
greater than ever. 

December 29, 1998. 

The Hermanns have had the good-fortune to be al- 
lowed to stay in Meiendorf . He is to manage the farm, 
and she will take charge of the house and the dairy. 
Changes in their position are reserved for the future. 
So they will at least be spared the sorrow of leaving the 
husband's family estate. I am already packing my be- 
longings, and shall set out for Berlin day after to-morrow. 

January 10, 1994. 

We have now conquered the greatest diflSculties of the 
change. There has been terrible confusion, and many 
comical stories are told. The most difficult thing was 
the withdrawal of the money. Nobody would produce 
his gold pieces, and much coin is said to be buried. 

My work hitherto has not been very hard, on account 
of a lack of the raw material with which I am to labor, 
as Albert jestingly remarked. I have been principally 
occupied in the woman's ward, where the number of pa- 
tients is increasing. Few children under the age of six 



m MB. Bellamy's woeld. 157 

have been brought in ; even the orphans who are being 
reared in private houses do not seem to be willingly 
given up by their foster-parents. 

January 24, 1994. 

A little band of children has gradually collected. Un- 
natural mothers have always existed, but the percentage 
of them within this district of the city is small. Most 
people would rather make pecuniary sacrifices than part 
with their children. There is said to be great indigna- 
tion in certain circles over this ill-success, and there are 
rumors that plans are fprming to render refractory par- 
ents more yielding. If this step does not succeed, it will 
be long ere the desired equality in the socialistic State 
will be complete. 

The department containing children three and four 
years old has been assigned to me. At first they seemed 
shy and timid, but I soon won their hearts. First, I 
let them play some pretty little games ; then they sat 
around me on their stools while I told them the stories 
of Snowwhite and the Sleeping Beauty. How their 
eyes sparkled ! 

February 15, 1994. 

Albert and I meet twice a week at the house of Herr 
Hermann's skter, who lives here. I have leave to go 
there after the children are in bed. It is my only rec- 
reation, but it is enough. Albert always tells with ex- 
quisite humor stories of the endless confusion in his shop. 
Everything goes according to line and rule. If there is 
an unexpected demand for some material or implement, 
or any change of plan, it invariably occasions a complete 
cessation of work, on account of the numerous docu- 
ments and formalities necessary. 

Curious things happen among the workmen, too. 
Those who have a higher degree of knowledge and skill, 



158 MR. FBEDEBIOK EAST's EXFEBIENOES 

such as the machine-builders, etc., ask that individual 
tasks shall be drawn by lot in the factory, because all re- 
ceive the same wages. Nobody wishes to surpass others, 
but no one shuns falling behind. 

March 19, 1994. 

There is really nothing in the way of our marriage. 
We might follow the example of many young people, 
who hire furnished apartments and then go at once to 
the civil magistrate. After all, this is the only way, for 
brides no longer bring an outfit, partly because noth- 
ing can be spared from the income, partly because it is 
burdensome to every one to collect a store of furniture, 
household utensils, and linen before there is any thought 
of marriage. 

Under present circumstances, I feel no impulse to 
marry, much as I long to be inseparably united to him. 
Albert, too, does not speak of it. It seems as though 
something was gnawing at his heart, oppressing his 
cheerful nature. 

October 10, 1994. 

Sorrowful things are of daily occurrence in the wom- 
an's ward. Many mothers whose children were born here 
are sent back to their homes, and this is by no means the 
easy matter which men suppose. The little ones, it is 
true, do not understand, and soon forget their mothers, 
but to the mothers it is the sorest grief which could be 
imposed upon them. 

Many return to the institution at odd moments to see 
their children, often accompanied by their husbands. 
But the babies do not remember them, and turn away 
screaming. 

November 2*7, 1994. 

Very sad moments frequently visit me, and when I fix 
my eyes upon the future everything looks dark. 



m ME. Bellamy's world. 159 

This evening I took out the album which my parents 
gave me at my confirmation, and tears filled my eyes as 
I read my father's beautiful dedication : " Let your rul- 
ing principle, dear Louise, be always to act in trying cir- 
cumstances as your self-respect requires; then you will 
never be forced to repent." 

Can a woman who renounces all the more beautiful 
duties of marriage respect herself ? 

It is a desperate situation. I would not be such a wom- 
an, yet I cannot think of parting from Albert. 

December 10, 1994. 

I spent a sorrowful evening yesterday, and a sad night 
followed. What I have long foreboded and feared has 
become a certainty. Albert is filled with an unconquer- 
able despondency. Life in this society is shallow and 
loathsome. How could it be otherwise with a man whose 
every thought and aspiration rises above the level of 
mediocrity ? There is no room for grand and conspic- 
uous achievements in a society whose highest idea is to 
keep every man from being compelled to conquer a feel- 
ing of envy against his neighbor. In such a sphere 
everything is petty and limited, and an aspiring, ener- 
getic nature feels cramped on all sides. Albert com- 
plains of invincible bureaucratic stupidity and phlegm 
in those above him ; of indiflEerence, sloth, and negligence 
in the workmen. And the worst feature is that there 
is no way of stimulating the more skilful, talented, and 
industrious elements. They are reluctant to do their ut- 
most, since the equalization of wages, in a certain sense, 
puts a premium upon unskilfulness and idleness. 

Albert would like to leave the country. But he does 
not know where to turn ; the same evils exist in all civ- 
ilized lands, and the socialization of society has deprived 



I 

160 MS. FBEDEBIOK EASt's EXFEBIENOES 

him of the means to go to savage regions. But is it pos- 
sible that fear of want and deprivation deters so ener- 
getic a man from departing, when the most powerful of 
all motives urges him on? Alas, I fear there is some- 
thing else beneath. Perhaps I am the obstacle. 

December 18, 1994. 

I cannot shake ofi the thought. Albert wants to leave 
this country, but is unwilling to desert me. How glad- 
ly I would accompany him, share toil and wantl But 
ought I, a weak woman, to hang upon him like a clog ? 
Should not I paralyze his steps, rob him of his freedom 
of judgment in the hour of need and peril ? Must I not 
dread being the cause of his ruin ? 

December 28, 1994. 

All is over. My happiness is at an end, and I wish 
my life was also. We met at Herr Hermann's sister's 
yesterday, and this was probably the last time I shall 
embrace him. Albert said a great deal about the an- 
noyances in his factory and the discomfort of the thought 
that he was condemned to spend his life in work which 
called forth the exercise of only half his powers; I re- 
lated many incidents in the children's hospital that were 
not very cheering, and thus we fell into a mood by no 
means joyous. Gradually the conversation turned upon a 
hapless young wife who, unable to endure the separation 
from her child, which she had left in the hospital, threw 
herself from a window in a fit of insanity. I mentioned 
other mournful cases which had occurred in the woman's 
ward. Albert seemed to be deeply moved. He drew 
rae closer to him, and we sat in silence a long time. 
" My poor darling," he said, hesitatingly, at last, " these 
are terrible times for the better natures among the hu- 



IN ME. Bellamy's world. 161 

man race. Would you be the wife of a man who cannot 
make you the mother of his children ?" 

I could not look at him, but hid my face on his breast. 
A dagger seemed to pierce my heart. I could not keep 
back my tears, and gradually burst into loud sobbing. 
Albert clasped me in his arms and tried to console me. 
" We must not decide to-day," he said, after a pause. 
" Question your heart and tell me the result at some 
other time." 

I could find no words to answer, and my leave of ab- 
sence was over. Throwing myself into his arms again, 
I kissed him and rushed from the house. 

It was a terrible night. I tossed restlessly on my bed, 
and my pillow was wet with my tears. Had I known a 
single spot in the world where there was room for us 
both, I could not have made the painful resolution. But 
I had his happiness and my own self-respect to guard, 
and, as I despaired and struggled, I could discern neither 
deliverance nor help. When I rose from my couch this 
morning, weary and worn, my decision was made, and, 
sitting down, I wrote: 

My deab, deab Albert, — Our fate crosses our wishes. 
How happy I have been in my love for you, and how 
proud I should have been as your wife ! But I will 
never become a wife in the present meaning of the 
word. 

Let us do what we owe to ourselves ! I will not cease 
to love you, and in my every act your image will be 
the shining sun of my soul. May favoring fortune en- 
able you to find the goal to which your lofty nature and 
active mind aspire. This will ever be my highest de- 
sire, my most fervent prayer. 

Your Louise. 
11 



162 MB. FBEDEBIOK EASt's EXPEBISNGES 

Albert's answer came at twilight. 

My daeling, — You have spoken as I expected. Is 
your verdict right? Must this be ? My suffering is too 
keen for me to judge. But all my life it will be my 
sweetest thought that such a woman has loved me. 

Be it as you will. But I can part only from your 
bodily presence, not from your soul. May God grant 
.you comfort, and angels guard and protect you. 

YoTJE Albebt. 

So the golden dream is over. O God, give me strength 
and let me not fall into temptation ! 

January 8, 1995. 

Herr Hormann's sister has sent me a briefly- worded 
invitation to come to her house this evening. What 
can her object be ? Is it possible that Albert — That 
would be beyond my strength. It would be a risk, an 
act of presumption. I shall stay at home. 

January 4, 1996. 

Albert was there. Auguste Hormann came here yes- 
terday and told me so. He is ready to leave the coiun- 
try, but could not resolve to go without a farewell. It 
was certainly a good inspiration which bade me remain. 
To bid him farewell forever would have been more than 
I could bear. 

Albert will go as far as Baku by means of his credit 
card, and hopes to obtain money enough to pay the cost 
of the rest of the journey by bartering some goods 
which can be easily transported. He is going into the 
wide, wide world. His hope is to make his way in the 
new civilization of Central Asia. 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 163 

January 5, 1996. 

Albert has gone. Be calm, my heart, and do not de- 
spair. I feel as if I mnst get away from this place, as 
if I could not find work enough to divert my thoughts 
from my grief. I think that if I were in a hospital, 
and had the task of relieving the suffering and cheering 
the despairing, I should find it easier to conquer my 
own sorrow. Perhaps Herr Biichner can help me to 
obtain it. 

February 1, 1996. 

I have been a nurse in the Emperor and Empress 
Frederick Hospital for a week. The institution bears 
the name of a great sufferer. What that noble nature 
had to bear outweighs my own anguish, and its memory 
must serve to strengthen me. I have assumed the name 
of Sister Martha, for even my name must not remind 
me of the joy I have renounced. It was not perfectly 
easy to enter this new calling. There are many painful 
and repulsive things connected with it, but I am becom- 
ing accustomed to them. Perhaps none of the patients 
whom I nurse and console suffers so much as I, but it 
aids me to help them, and my heart finds content in 
doing so. If I pursue this course to my life's end I 
shall lay my head to rest with the consciousness that, 
spite of the woe which society has inflicted upon me, 
I have not missed my vocation as a woman. 



From this point the journal became less coherent, 
and contained principally matters which were neither 
associated with my friend's fate, nor with the great 
question which absorbed my attention. I was deeply 
moved, and could not divert my thoughts from this 



164 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST'S EXPERIENCES 

angel in human form and her tragic destiny. The prog- 
ress of this revolution, as the journal described it, had 
strongly excited me. 'How had it chanced that man- 
kind could accept an idea so totally at variance with 
all the emotions which well so naturally, like a clear, 
rippling spring, from the mind and heart ? How had 
the delusion of the earth's favored classes succeeded in 
guiding all the millions in the world into paths which 
I could no longer doubt would plunge society from the 
highest degree of civilization into the deepest abyss? 

My thoughts and meditations kept me awake a long 
time ; but when at last the god of dreams captured me, 
wonderfully sweet visions of the past rose before my 
mind. I saw my boy stretching his arms towards me 
from his little crib, as he lisped "papa" for the first 
time, saw him on my knees, watched him merrily play- 
ing about or cultivating his mind and heart in some 
clever game. I saw him, as he grew older, striving for 
knowledge, and finally entering life — a youth who loved 
virtue and abhorred vice. And, as the god of dreams 
conjured these sweet visions before me, I again tasted 
the most exquisite happiness which had blessed my life. 



IN MS. Bellamy's world. 165 



CHAPTER VII. 

A CONVERSATION WITH THE CHANCELLOR. 

A FEW days after I received a short note from Herr 
Biichner. The Chancellor wished to give me verbal in- 
structions on certain matters, and desired me to come 
to him for a few minutes at seven o'clock in the evening. 
This summons was by no means, disagreeable to my thirst 
for knowledge, and I reached the Chancellor's precisely 
at the hour designated. 

I found him a tall, slender man, still erect, spite of 
his seventy years. His face expressed deep earnestness, 
and his thoughtful brow and thin, sharply-cut features 
denoted a man of keen intelligence. 

" I sent for you, Herr Ost," he began, after offering 
me a seat by a wave of the hand, ^^ because I desire to dis- 
cuss certain matters which I consider extremely impor- 
tant. Herr Biichner has informed you of my wish to 
have an opinion of the present method of agriculture 
from a man who was a practical farmer at a period of 
great import to the technical perfection of agriculture, 
especially in the matter of utilizing scientific investiga- 
tion. I hear that you lived in the ever memorable 
decade during which Liebig's magnificent discoveries 
created a perfect revolution in the farmer's aims." 

" Certainly, Your Excellency," I replied ; " I was a 
farmer during that brilliant epoch, and did my part tow- 
ards inducing my associates to profit by the lessons of 
science." 



166 MB. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

Well, this avocation has not since lost its importance 
to mankind. On the contrary, with the increase of pop- 
ulation, the necessity of opening every source whence 
food can be obtained for these millions grows more im- 
perative. Whether we have reached the climax of our 
task in this respect is the question over which I often 
ponder anxiously." 

" Your Excellency may be sure that I consider it an 
infinite advantage to be able, after the lapse of a cen- 
tury, once more to behold the world's work, and estimate 
the value of the labors and aspirations of my own day 
by the fruits they have produced. 1 can have no other 
thought, however, than that these fruits must be very 
rich, and that, with all the giant strides of manufactures 
which I imagine, agriculture keeps pace." 

" It does indeed, Herr Ost," he replied. " Since the 
paths of investigation were opened one discovery has 
caused another, and with the continual increase of 
knowledge agriculture has succeeded in augmenting the 
productions of the soil and combating the hostile influ- 
ences of nature with greater success. But the anxieties 
which oppress me do not extend to the prosperity of 
agriculture in general, but refer solely to the question 
whether, in our socialistic community, we can bring this 
noble art to its full efficiency. Urged on by the most 
important task the new Government has laid on my 
shoulders, I have toiled to effect this with the utmost 
zeal. It is now the duty of the State to provide all the 
pleasures the people desire. But the need of food must 
be satisfied ere we can devote any powers to the amuse- 
ments, comforts, and refinements of life, and we can 
employ for these higher aims of society only that por- 
tion of the industrial force which remains after food has 
been procured." 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 167 

" I understand that perfectly," I replied, " but I should 
think that the increased population of the present time 
must furnish a considerably larger number of persons 
whose labor can be used in other branches of production 
than that of procuring food. Experience teaches us that 
highly civilized nations become richer in proportion to 
the greater number of inhabitants to the square mile, 
and this circumstance is readily explained by the fact 
that employment in manufacturing, the labor which 
converts raw material into higher forms, is usually more 
profitable than the toil which produces the raw material 
and strives with Nature." 

" There you are probably right. In a manufacturing 
nation the density of the population is a source of 
wealth, and in Germany also riches have increased pro- 
portionally to the necessity imposed by the number of 
its inhabitants to buy food from less populated lands. 
But I have been troubled for several years by the dis- 
covery that a change is occurring in this respect. 

" I have devoted all my care to fostering agriculture, 
and shun no sacrifice which, in the opinion of the Min- 
ister of Agriculture, seems to promise an increase of 
the productions of the soil. All the experimental sta- 
tions are active, and all the demands made upon me by 
the organs of the agricultural administration are freely 
granted. No labor requested by the officials of that de- 
partment is spared; numbers of masons and carpenters 
are employed on farm-buildings. The use of agricultural 
machines has greatly increased since the socialization of 
society — ^that is, since the cost of obtaining them need 
no longer be considered, and their management occupies 
a considerable portion of our industrial force. The use 
of artificial manures and strengthening foods has also 
experienced a remarkable injcrease, and it is by no means 



168 MB. FBEDERIOK EABT^S EXPERIENCES 

agreeable to the Government to be obliged to employ a 
larger number of workmen for their manufacture, and 
to send a greater supply of manufactured goods to for- 
eign countries for the purchase of raw material. 

" I can say, for my satisfaction, that the socialistic 
State, as well as the figures of the agricultural statistics, 
show us that the productiveness of the soil has not di- 
minished, but we can prove an increase of products. My 
fear is that this demand of civilization is too dearly 
purchased. Though the manufacture of the articles we 
are obliged to send, in exchange for the importation of 
meat and bread-stuffs from foreign countries, requires a 
larger industrial force than in former times, the decrease 
in the number of human hands available for the manu- 
facture \of clothing, and everything which can serve for 
the pleasure, comfort, and especially the adornment of 
life, is far too great for me to find any other explanation 
of it." 

"Then, if I understand you correctly. Your Excel- 
lency," I answered, " my task is to ascertain the causes 
which; since the socialization of society, have occasioned 
an increase in the cost of bread and meat." 

" You are quite correct, sir. I wish to understand this 
matter clearly, as I am striving to make improvements 
in both directions. I desire, so far as it is possible, to 
increase the productiveness of agriculture, in order to 
be relieved from the cost of purchasing so much food ; 
but, at the same time, I would like to reduce the sum 
of human- labor used in obtaining agricultural products 
to the amount which formerly proved suflScient. 

"Have the kindness to realize distinctly how much 
it will benefit society to gain relief in this respect. The 
last census, whose results you know, that of 1885, showed 
a population of — in round numbers — forty-seven mill- 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 169 

ions, and even at that time the inhabitants required so 
much more than the land produced that considerable 
quantities of grain were imported. Now we have one 
hundred millions — that is, fifty-three millions more, whose 
whole supply of food must be imported. If we estimate 
the consumption of grain at only three hundred pounds 
per head, this will give an increased importation of one 
hundred and fifty-nine million hundred-weight of bread- 
stuffs alone. 

"You are quite right in your statement that this in- 
creased population, by industrious work in manufactur- 
ing, can produce articles of far greater value than the 
cost of the food bought in foreign countries, and that 
society will therefore have a larger number of human 
hands to use in adorning life. But this belief is based 
upon the supposition that the amount of labor done will 
remain the same as before ; for any waste of industry 
leads directly to the diminution of the hands toiling for 
the adornment of life, and must therefore result in a 
retrogade movement of society. If you realize that it is 
only a very small number of human hands which are not 
working for the imperative needs of food, clothes, and 
lodgings, but for tlje refinements, or, I might say, the 
luxuries of life, you will be able to understand the ex- 
tent of the danger to society." 

The justice of the Chancellor's last remark was very 
evident to me. In my former life the number of per- 
sons engaged in farming exceeded that of those em- 
ployed in all the branches of manufacturing. At that 
period the latter had not only to supply the millions of 
the people with clothing, shoes, household utensils, and 
workmen's tools, but also to provide agriculture with its 
machinery, and to produce the goods whose sale in for- 
eign countries brought means to purchase the food not 



170 MR. FKEDEKIOK EAST's EXPEBIEN0E8 

produced at home. With the increase of population 
the situation must have become more favorable, in so far 
as that the relative number of laborers employed in 
farming had lessened in comparison to the whole indus- 
trial force. Still, the number of hands required to sup- 
ply necessary wants must always preponderate so largely 
that any decrease in those engaged in producing un- 
necessary things could not be expressed save by a large 
percentage, and therefore a considerable diminution must 
appear in the pleasures and adornments of life. So I felt 
constrained to assent to the Chancellor's statement and 
assure him that I would devote my attention specially 
to discovering the causes of the greater expenditure of 
the industrial force in farming. 

"But there is another thing which inspires doubts 
concerning the profitableness of the present system of 
agriculture," the Chancellor continued. " In addition 
to its principal products — grain, the meat of cattle, sheep, 
and hogs, milk, butter, and cheese — society has many 
other kinds of food which in a certain sense are minor 
productions yet, though so far inferior to the former 
ones, are indispensable to the people, and represent a by 
no means inconsiderable value. I will mention eggs, 
poultry, and honey. Among these, eggs especially are 
of the utmost importance, for they are very beneficial to 
the health, useful for various purposes, and have always 
been considered a very cheap source of albumen. But 
the production of this important food has greatly dimin- 
ished, and the same is also true of poultry and bee- 
keeping. With the utmost effort — and I have had the 
warmest support from the Minister of Agriculture — we 
have not succeeded in effecting a change. From the offi- 
cial agricultural circles we receive the statement that 
the production of eggs, poultry, and honey would be 



IN MB. BBLLAMY^S WOBLD. 171 

utterly unprofitable if other sources of revenue from 
agriculture were given up in their favor, and so we can- 
not help reproaching ourselves with failure to under- 
stand the wants of society in matters of such impor- 
tance. Complaints of the inadequate supply of eggs 
trouble me most. So I would wish to direct your atten- 
tion to this point, Herr Ost. You will render a special 
service if you can explain the cause of this phenomenon 
and suggest any means of remedying the evil." 

I was utterly amazed by these words, and at first did 
not know what to answer. During my whole experi- 
ence as a farmer poultry-raising had been the special 
pleasure of all country dames, from the titled lady to 
the day -laborer's wife, and nothing would have been 
further from my thoughts than to term it a costly and 
unprofitable branch of production. Bee-keeping, too, 
had been a source of amusement rather than labor. It 
had served as a recreation to many persons, occasioned 
little expense, and returned large profits for a small 
amount of care. What could be the reason for giving 
up such remunerative minor productions in the social- 
istic community on account of a lack of profit ? 

" I can give no cause at this moment for a phenome- 
non which seems to me incomprehensible, Your Excel- 
lency," I replied, at last, "but it shall be my aim to 
discover it. The first part of my task appears to me 
the easier one. Bold as it would be to hazard a positive 
opinion before I thoroughly understand the present sys- 
tem of agriculture, I might risk the conjecture that one 
cause of the greater cost of obtaining food is to be 
found in the circumstance that, with the total want of 
competition in the socialistic State, work is performed 
with less energy. From the idea I have hitherto been 
able to form of the prosperity of the socialistic produc- 



170 MR. FKEDKiilOK EAST's EXPEBIENOES 

produced at home. With the increase of population 
the situation must have become more favorable, in so far 
as that the relative number of laborers employed in 
farming had lessened in comparison to the whole indus- 
trial force. Still, the number of hands required to sup- 
ply necessary wants must always preponderate so largely 
that any decrease in those engaged in producing un- 
necessary things could not be expressed save by a large 
percentage, and therefore a considerable diminution must 
appear in the pleasures and adornments of life. So I felt 
constrained to assent to the Chancellor's statement and 
assure him that I would devote my attention specially 
to discovering the causes of the greater expenditure of 
the industrial force in farming. 

"But there is another thing which inspires doubts 
concerning the profitableness of the present system of 
agriculture," the Chancellor continued. " In addition 
to its principal products — grain, the meat of cattle, sheep, 
and hogs, milk, butter, and cheese — society has many 
other kinds of food which in a certain sense are minor 
productions yet, though so far inferior to the former 
ones, are indispensable to the people, and represent a by 
no means inconsiderable value. I will mention eggs, 
poultry, and honey. Among these, eggs especially ai'e 
of the utmost importance, for they are very beneficial to 
the health, useful for various purposes, and have always 
been considered a very cheap source of albumen. But 
the production of this important food has greatly dimin- 
ished, and the same is also true of poultry and bee- 
keeping. With the utmost effort — ^and I have had the 
warmest support from the Minister of Agriculture — we 
have not succeeded in effecting a change. From the oflS- 
cial agricultural circles we receive the statement that 
the production of eggs, poultry, and honey would be 



IN MR. BBLLAMY^S WORLD. 171 

utterly unprofitable if other sources of revenue from 
agriculture were given up in their favor, and so we can- 
not help reproaching ourselves with failure to under- 
stand the wants of society in matters of such impor- 
tance. Complaints of the inadequate supply of eggs 
trouble me most. So I would wish to direct your atten- 
tion to this point, Herr Ost. You will render a special 
service if you can explain the cause of this phenomenon 
and suggest any means of remedying the evil." 

I was utterly amazed by these words, and at first did 
not know what to answer. During my whole experi- 
ence as a farmer poultry-raising had been the special 
pleasure of all country dames, from the titled lady to 
the day -laborer's wife, and nothing would have been 
further from my thoughts than to term it a costly and 
unprofitable branch of production. Bee-keeping, too, 
had been a source of amusement rather than labor. It 
had served as a recreation to many persons, occasioned 
little expense, and returned large profits for a small 
amount of care. What could be the reason for giving 
up such remunerative minor productions in the social- 
istic community on account of a lack of profit ? 

" I can give no cause at this moment for a phenome- 
non which seems to me incomprehensible, Your Excel- 
lency," I replied, at last, "but it shall be my aim to 
discover it. The first part of my task appears to me 
the easier one. Bold as it would be to hazard a positive 
opinion before I thoroughly understand the present sys- 
tem of agriculture, I might risk the conjecture that one 
cause of the greater cost of obtaining food is to be 
found in the circumstance that, with the total want of 
competition in the socialistic State, work is performed 
with less energy. From the idea I have hitherto been 
able to form of the prosperity of the socialistic produe- 



172 ME. FBEDERICK EAST*S EXPERIENCES 

tion, I should be inclined to believe that the difficulty 
the Government has in keeping the amusements of so- 
ciety at the same height is partly due to a diminution 
of the stimulus to labor." 

" You are right," said the Chancellor ; " it is an un- 
deniable fact that v7ork is no longer performed with the 
same zeal, and whoever understands human nature will 
comprehend the cause." 

" Then the first task is to seek means of correcting 
this evil. And, if we could succeed in awaking zeal in 
the laborers, the hope of maintaining civilized society in 
a state of prosperous development would not be utterly 
lost." 

" That was my hope, too, Herr Ost. It was a faint 
one, but I had it, and so long as even a glimmer re- 
mained the anxiety which oppressed me was compara- 
tively light. True, it was difficult to keep society at 
the level of wealth it had attained because, with the fail- 
ing energy in work, we lacked hands. Had this been 
the sole evil it might perhaps have been conquered by 
the increasing knowledge of men. But, unnoticed and 
invisible, another peril was rising whijih now appears in 
more distinct outlines, and whose increasing power no 
human nor divine might can stay." 

The Chancellor paused a moment, and a gloomy 
shadow rested on his thoughtful face. Then, laying 
a strong emphasis on every word, he slowly continued : 

" The socialistic Government will not go to destruc- 
tion because it lacks human hands to labor, but because 
it lacks labor for the human hands." 

These were words of terrible import. "Want of profit- 
able employment had been the source of all the troubles 
of the lower classes in former days. With the :• acrease 
of social prosperity in the course of the centuries, this 



m MR. Bellamy's wobld. 173 

difficulty had lessened, and the immense growth of capi- 
tal, apparently the inexorable foe of the laboring classes, 
had created competition in its search for labor, and, with 
its growth, had become the life-giving sun beneath 
whose fertilizing rays the laborer could improve his sit- 
uation and free himself from his dependent position. 
Lack of employment had not ceased to be a sore evil, 
for irregular currents caused constant disturbances, 
which occasioned distress and want, now here, now 
there, and to rid the world of this evil had been one 
of the motives for establishing the socialistic State. So- 
cialized society, it was supposed, would keep all its mem- 
bers employed. Had the expectation been a mistaken 
one in this respect ? Had the socialization of labor be- 
come a source of want of occupation ? 

As on the afternoon when the purchase of a few nec- 
essary articles afforded me some glimpses of modern 
social life, a vague foreboding rose before me that the 
levelling of wants must be an unfavorable sign of the 
prosperity of the new society. But, again, I was unable 
to form any clear idea of cause and effect. My eyes 
rested eagerly on the Chancellor's lips. After a short 
pause he continued his explanations. 

" You are a practical man, Herr Ost, and as such must 
have already become aware that, with the socialization 
of society, certain changes in the manner of production 
must have taken place. The extremely luxurious wants 
of the rich could not fail to cease as soon as wealth 
disappeared and the sum of production was divided into 
equal parts as the common property of humanity. The 
result of this was that all those objects of luxury which 
could be purchased only by people whose incomes were 
above the average could no longer be manufactured, and 
the hands formerly engaged in making them were neces- 



174 MB. FREDEBIOK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

sarily employed in creating such useful articles as would 
now be universally wanted by all whose incomes had 
formerly been leas than the average one. 

" Complete equality has not been secured, for the man- 
ufacture of a large portion of these articles of luxury 
whose production became limited required far more 
labor than that of making the less valuable ones which 
took their places. Or, to put it more clearly: if, for in- 
stance, the production for home consumption of costly 
works of art, china, glass, wood-carving, etc., ceased, and 
a great number of personal services, always in demand 
in the houses of the rich, were abolished, while, on the 
other hand, a much greater quantity of clothes, shoes, 
the better kinds of food, or articles of ornament whose 
manufacture required less skill, were produced, a large 
share of human labor would be released because, even if 
the total value of the production remained unchanged, 
a greater amount of machinery could be employed in 
the latter than in the former. 

^' But even admitting that we should thils have had a 
superabundance of working force," the Chancellor went 
on, " this is not so in reality, because we have lost more 
in the decrease of labor performed than could be gained 
in the other direction — ^it would scarcely cause any tangi- 
ble evil. Other arrangements for the use of men — for 
instance, laying out public parks, establishing pleasure 
grounds, improving dwellings, etc. — ^would supply occu- 
pation, and 1 really incline to the belief that, if other 
troubles were not gnawing at the root of the socialistic 
Government, this decrease in the number of wants would 
not have made it impossible for us to maintain a perma- 
nent balance between production and consumption." 

" But our German empire is not the only country in 
which this decrease of wants made itself felt. The so- 



IN MK. Bellamy's woeld. 175 

cialistic mode of production, and with it this evil, be- 
came naturalized simultaneously in all other civilized 
countries, and as a result the latter assumed proportions 
which made it appear a serious future peril. In the 
first place diflSculties confront us from the fact that we 
no longer find the same number of refined wants in the 
agricultural countries. We have to depend upon them 
for our supplies of food, and our manufactured articles 
must serve as a means of exchange for their purchase. 
All the other manufacturing countries in the world 
are in the same position. For them, too, exportation 
is the condition of existence, the means of procuring 
the importation of food. So long as the number of 
articles wanted was unlimited and varied, it was not 
difficult for the manufacturing countries to obtain, by 
a large exportation, an abundant supply of provisions. 
One nation found one branch of manufactures an ex- 
haustless source of revenue, another another, according to 
the skill and talents of the people. Since, with the social- 
ization of society, wants in all countries have grown sim- 
pler, the market is everywhere closed against all costly 
products, and all manufacturing nations find themselves 
compelled to devote their attention to the articles which 
will supply simpler needs. But, as I have already said, 
these are the very things whose manufacture requires 
less skill and fewer hands. This renders the sale of 
goods more difficult. On the one hand, the agricult- 
ural countries succeeded in making larger quantities of 
the less difficult articles themselves, thereby becoming 
less dependent on foreign lands, and, on the other hand, 
owing to the decrease in the demand, greater compe- 
tition arose among the manufacturing countries, which 
lessened the value of their exports. 

"All threw upon the market a larger number of the 



176 MB. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

less costly wares. But, great as may be the charm of 
purchasing at reduced prices a larger number of clothes 
and shoes, or simpler articles of jewelry or ornament, 
there is a limit to it, and whatever is produced beyond 
hopelessly declines in value. You will understand how 
great a danger confronts us. The extensibility of wants 
was the motive power of civilization in the material aa 
well as in the intellectual world. If this is abolished 
the material prosperity of mankind, and with it civ- 
ilization, will be imperilled. All life in the world 
pulses solely by extension and growth; from. the mo- 
ment that growth ceases, all creatures tend towards 
their end." 

The Chancellor paused and gazed thoughtfully into 
vacancy. But I could not yet clearly understand why 
this state of affairs should be so threatening. That the 
extensibility of wants is the real lever of all progress in 
civilization I did not doubt, and that the advance of civ- 
ilization encounters an obstacle when the number of 
wants becomes restricted was as clear as possible. Yet 
only the quality, not the quantity, of wants had lessened, 
and so I could not perceive why the production of man- 
ufacturing countries should be exposed to serious dan- 
ger, so long as the consumption remained the same ac- 
cording to its value. But, so far as I could learn, hith- 
erto this had been the case. If the people who had 
formerly been richer now spent less for manufactured 
articles, those who had been poorer, in consequence of 
equalization, now spent more, and, if the equal division 
of the revenue had resulted in the production of an equal 
quantity of useful articles by the increased aid of ma- 
chinery, with a smaller number of human hands, this, it 
seemed to me, could be only an advantage, not an injury. 
If industrial power is thus set free, society can only reap 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 177 

the advantage of either shortening the hours of labor, or 
increasing wants by the enlargement of production. 

" I myself have had misgivings about the loss of so 
many wants," I replied. " But I cannot deny that my 
reflections always lead me to the conclusion that, though 
this circumstance may be an obstacle to the progress of 
society, it cannot seriously endanger its existence. If, 
in consequence of equalization, the object of labor, the 
satisfaction of wants, can be accomplished in an easier 
and less wearisome fashion — in so far as this is done by • 
less effort of human hands — ^this ought to be simply a 
source of gratification, and the competition of manufac- 
turing countries in exporting their wares must, it seems 
to me, again guide production into the right channels.'' 

" Regarding the matter in a purely theoretical man- 
ner, you may be right, Herr Ost. But an insight into 
the practical working of it leads to a different conclu- 
sion. The exportation of manufactured articles and the 
importation of food is not a direct exchange of wares ; 
the barter requires a more circuitous method. For in- 
stance, the greater part of our grain is obtained from 
Russia, while Russia herself receives from us only wares 
of much less value. Our manufactured articles go into 
all the countries of the globe, and settlement is made 
with endless circumlocution. 

"These circuits are so great that we have already 
been obliged to make treaties with other Governments, 
in order to again introduce metal as a means of ex- 
change in international trade. If you will keep in view 
three points : first, that it is not easy, under such cir- 
cumstances, to find a sale for manufactured articles, 
and that the difficulties connected with it are felt in 
production or rather by the Government which directs 
it ; secondly, that the decrease of wants has been not 

12 



178 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST's EXPEBISNOES 

only in quality but in quantity, because the agricultural 
countries have succeeded in making more and more of 
the useful articles whose manufacture demands less skill ; 
and, thirdly, that every increase in the diflSculty of sell- 
ing the products of manufactures means an increase of 
diflBcnlty in buying food — that is, the vital spark of the 
nation is threatened when we find no adequate market 
for the products of our factories. If you keep these 
three points in view, you will not fail to see the dangers 
to which socialized society is exposed." 

"The final goal of social democracy, Your Excellency, 
has inspired misgivings in my mind from the first mo- 
ment I became familiar with it, and I am far from un- 
derrating the difficulties you point out. Undoubtedly 
the socialistic ideall is a paradox which contradicts sound 
sense, and whose realization cannot be beneficial to the 
human race. This is a conjecture I have had from the 
beginning, and have found many phenomena to confirm. 

" Only I cannot fully understand why, as you just said, 
there is in prospect a lack of profitable employment, 
which will prove the destruction of mankind. The dark 
sides I see appear to me to lead to ruin indirectly rather 
than directly. I do not doubt that, in view of the utter 
unnaturalness of the circumstances, any further progress 
of society is an impossibility, and, according to the course 
of events, stagnation contains the germ of decay. But I 
cannot fully comprehend the inexorable nature of the 
phenomena which must lead society to a speedy down- 
fall." 

"This inexorability lies in the nature of the trade — 
the fiuctuations to which it is exposed. Just imagine the 
occurrence of events which would render a considerable 
portion of our products unsaleable, and our dense popu- 
lation would be exposed to famine." 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 179 

" Yet society formerly was often overtaken by such 
crises, and always succeeded in repairing its injuries. 
Ought not socialized society to have strength to recover 
itself by means of increased exertion, enlarged produc- 
tion ?" 

" The society of former days had capital in reserve 
for such crises ; socialized society has not. The private 
capital, to which social democracy was so hostile, could 
become the salvation of that society; the present social 
system has dropped this sole means of deliverance from 
its grasp." 

"But socialized society possesses a common capital. 
The machines, the implements of labor, the houses and , 
manufactories, the railroads and ships, the land and all 
the stores are at its disposal, and can be used according 
to its best judgment." 

" There you probably overlook the distinction between 
the socialistic and the natural method of production. 
So long as capital was in private hands, it was purchas- 
able, and, besides its worth as an implement of labor, 
had a commercial value. 

" By bonds and similar certificates the capital — elands 
and buildings, workshops and stocks of goods — could be 
divided into portions, and by placing these papers in a 
bank, money could be obtained for payments by which 
the most pressing wants were relieved and the stranded 
ship was again set afloat. In such cases capital became, 
in a certain sense, the equivalent of stores garnered for 
days of need. At such times of want society lived on 
its possessions. How different is the situation in the 
socialized world ! It cannot dispose of a single piece of 
property which might serve to relieve a want. Even if 
it dealt itself a death-blow and wished to return the 
capital to private hands, there would not be in all civ- 



180 MB. FBEDEBIOE EASt'b EXFEBIENOES 

ilized society a single man who could buy a machine or 
a ship." 

This was undoubtedly true and undeniable, and I re- 
marked that I was beginning to understand the situation. 

"I comprehend this disadvantage of the socialistic 
community," I observed ; " but it has at its disposal the 
myriads of human hands which it need only set to work 
to produce everything the human race lacks. Clearly 
as I perceive all the dark sides of socialization, the im- 
possibility of employing the laboring force in such cases 
is not so apparent. 

"The impossibility springs from the same causes 
which, in all hard times, were the source of trouble. 
Why could the cabinet-maker, cobbler, smith, find no 
employment in seasons of poverty ? Because they had 
no wood, no leather, no iron which they could manu- 
facture. Why have so many laborers in every age 
vainly sought for work ? Because society was too poor 
to feel actual need of the articles which they could 
manufacture. Why have the ships, railroads, transpor- 
tation companies, found no adequate employment during 
periods of stagnation in trade? Because there was a 
disproportion between production and consumption, so 
that there were too few buyers to warrant the same 
shipment of goods. 

"All these causes will unite as soon as there are any 
serious interruptions to the sale of our manufactured 
products, and they will have the same result in the so- 
cialized world as the want of work had under former 
circumstances. The only distinction will be that pri- 
vate enterprise could raise itself after the fall, socialized 
society will sink into hopeless poverty." 

" Has the lack of sale of productions made itself seri- 
ously felt ?" 



IN ME. Bellamy's world. 181 

"We have had difficulties enough, but actual failure 
of sales has not yet occurred. It was, I might say, a 
blessing that, since this revolution, our old civilization 
began to flow back to the East whence it came. An 
excellent market for us has opened in the boundless 
plains of Central Asia. Much capital, fearing socializa- 
tion, has sought refuge there, and many a talented man 
for whom the socialistic State was too narrow has there 
found a field of labor. So we have always succeeded in 
supplying the people with bread and meat. Just now 
the Central Asians are busily engaged in building rail- 
roads, and our mines and factories are doing their ut- 
most to supply the immense demand. It is the same in 
England, Belgium, Sweden, and Eussia. If the raih-oad 
building there would continue, and the briskness of 
trade lead to increasing prosperity, our society might 
feel secure. Unfortunately" — and the Chancellor's feat- 
ures again grew serious — " I have recently received re- 
peated unfavorable reports. There are disturbances 
everywhere which threaten war and rebellion. This 
might become a terrible blow to us. 

"But away with these anxieties for the present," he 
added, rising. " We must quietly await what may hap- 
pen. But now you will doubtless understand why I 
feel so strong a desire to use the closest economy in the 
expenditure of our strength. We must all do our duty, 
and I expect this from you, Herr 0st. I wish you 
much pleasure from your journey and a favorable result 
for myself." 

This closed the interview, and T took my leave. This 
had been another important day — I might say the most 
important and significant of all the days I had -lived in 
the new world. Slight as my hopes had been, the dis- 
appointment was greater than I had supposed possible. 



182 MB. FREDERICK EAST'S EXPEBIEKOES 

The newspapers I had read, my conversation with Herr 
Biichner, Sister Martha's journal, my personal observa- 
tions, all made me recognize the socialization of society 
to be a stupendous folly. To-day I learned from the 
Chancellor's explanations far more. How could a doubt 
of his words have lingered in my mind ? This society 
of the social democratic State, which was to be such a 
model of happiness and wealth, of virtue and morality, 
is living on the crater of a volcano which may burst 
forth at any moment, pouring want and misery over it 
in its streams of ashes. 

Yet how submissive to deception is the world! How 
ready men are to listen to the false and the doubtful ! 
Poor mortals, I thought, ever since you inhabited the 
earth you have been unable to refrain from disturbing, 
by your superstition and thoughtlessness, that wonderful, 
mysterious impulse which Mother Nature has endowed 
with such indestructible vitality. For centuries you 
have imagined that you were aiding her supreme wis- 
dom by making the rich and happy of the world your 
favorites, giving them privileges, and trying to throw 
treasures into their laps at the expense of the poor. 
You have thus sowed dissension and malice until your 
partiality became unbearable, and the majority among 
you sought peace in a different order of affairs. You 
escaped one evil to throw yourselves into the arms of 
another. Could you never find the golden mean and 
give to all, without distinction, equal justice, equal love, 
and equal freedom of movement J! 



IN MB. bellaky'b wobld. 183 



CHAPTER VIII. 

HOW THE WOELD LOOKED. 

It was early in December when I began my journey. 
I did not set forth with the cheerful feelings which 
had filled my heart when I received my first commis- 
sion. I had already had too many experiences which 
had changed my mood to one of depression and hope- 
lessness. ISTevertheless, I had not lost an iota of real 
interest in the matter. What results had proceeded 
from socialization in relation to business, how the claims 
of the Government and of the individual in the various 
circles of society had been reconciled, what changes in 
views and customs had occurred, and what degree of 
satisfaction was felt in all quarters — to behold these 
things with my own eyes afforded as attractive a pros- 
pect as ever. 

My decision was not made easier by having the time 
of my departure occur at a period which was not with- 
out its influence upon the mood of men. New credit 
cards were issued the first of January, and it seemed 
as though, after this important act, I found the expres- 
sion of the faces more cheerful and self-reliant. Dur- 
ing January I found opinions leaning more towards the 
optimistic side, while previously pessimism had ob- 
viously prevailed.. It was a change such as we have 
often witnessed when the sun shines after dull, rainy 
days. 

If I had not already found myself in a state of disen- 



184 MR..FBEDESIOE EAST's EXPEBIENOES 

chantment I could not have helped wondering that not 
a single incident reminded me that I was in Mr. Bel- 
lamy's Utopia. The world had certainly grown richer 
and fairer. Everywhere I beheld the plainest signs that 
people had labored assiduously for reformation, refine- 
ment, beauty. But the human race itself had remained 
unaltered. It possessed all the qualities needed for an 
"" imperfect world, nothing which suited a Utopia. I 
read in the faces of the people no other happiness than 
that which can be obtained under imperfect conditions, 
and no other satisfaction than that arising from the joys 
of life, not one of which is without alloy. There was 
the same grumbling and fault-finding, the same natural 
inclination to preach rather than to practice. 

This is finding no fault with my present countrymen. 
It would be unjust to expect that their thoughts and 
feelings should rise above their environments, for cir- 
cumstances are the soil from which our intellectual life 
derives its sustenance, its coloring. When I compared 
the life of the modem world with that of the former 
one, could I censure them for having retained the old 
proneness to criticism and fault-finding? So far as I 
could compare past incidents in my memory, men were 
always most ready with their censure in cases where the 
Government was the producer. No matter how sincere 
might be the intentions of the Government, it could not 
escape the difficulty of finding suitable instruments for 
its work. Many able and well-trained men preferred to 
use their powers freely and independently for their own 
benefit, or modestly held back because virtue is associ- 
ated with virtue, as like seeks like. Applicants who 
pressed forward often cared more for obtaining a good 
salary than for performing good work. They were re- 
luctant to give up a lucrative office and numerous fees, 



IN ME. Bellamy's wobld. . 165 

but lack of work usually caused them little grief. They 
endeavored to make up for want of knowledge by as- 
sumption and arrogance, and liked to believe in the old 
saw that God gave, with the office, the ability to perform 
its duties. So it was no wonder that much of the work 
done by the Government bore the impress of stupidity, 
and if men bad fallen into the habit of viewing its 
labors with doubtful eyes, it arose from the perception 
that shallowness and incompetency lacked the stimulus 
of competition which, in the old social system, forced 
every one to the exertion of the utmost zeal. If in the 
old world criticism and fault-finding had not been 
wholly unjustifiable — and how often men had raved 
against the tendency to absorption by the State — ^how 
much more cause existed in this socialistic Government, 
which was the sole manufacturer and manager. So I 
could not wonder that wherever I went I found the 
invincible disposition to carp, that criticism was the 
principal topic of conversation. I no longer heard the 
weather discussed, and the ill-doings of servants were not 
mentioned, from the circumstance that the youthful 
members of the population were not permitted to seek 
employment of their ow^ free choice and use their own 
powers. The increasing mismanagement of the Gov- 
ernment was an unfailing source of comment. If a 
man's watch was returned without being thoroughly re- 
paired, the rascally Government was of course to blame. 
If a pair of boots had crooked heels, it was said that the 
Government could not even make a pair of boots. Let 
the Government do what it would, it could never escape 
censure, and if I may venture to express my opinion 
frankly, it was certainly made very difficult for it to give 
much cause for praise. 

But, as in everything else, I found differences. In 



186 ME. FEEDERICK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

\ 

some districts there was more complaint, in others less, 
and there was also more occasion for it in some places 
than in others. Things were exactly what they were in 
former days. One official was more competent than 
another. One man, in choosing his assistants, placed 
most value upon character and moral qualities, another 
desired pliability and absence of will. - Even where 
officials were elected, there were gradations in the ability 
of the chiefs. At one election capable men, at another, 
braggarts obtained the majority. 

But apart from the fact that managers did not every- 
where give the same cause for complaint, there were 
various reasons in different parts of the country which 
led to distinctions in the degree of dissatisfaction. In 
general, I could perceive that society, in the course of 
years had passed, as I had done within a few weeks, from 
the first glow of elation to a state of depression. Those 
who had been most enthusiastic kept a sullen silence, but 
among those who had not been champions of socialism 
there was scarcely one who did not openly revile social- 
ization. Opinions, however, varied in sharpness, accord- 
ing to the degree of loss made by the exchange. 

If there were any lives which might have been con- 
, sidered to have gained by the revolution, they were the 
young people from twenty-one to twenty-four, who, hav- 
ing passed the period of study, at once entered upon the 
full enjoyment of existence. They were no longer com- 
pelled to seek a means of livelihood, no longer obliged 
to battle with difficulties for a position in life ; position 
and pay were at once bestowed upon them. When I re- 
called the numerous trials with which in former times 
young people had to contend, a feeling of joyous sympa- 
thy often stirred my heart when I saw a young man or a 
young girl. They were freed from all the disagreeable 



IN ME. Bellamy's world. 187 

tokens of want of consideration with which those who 
had attained a secure position in life formerly favored 
them. I was especially glad to see that young girls were 
no longer obliged, as so-called apprentices, to undertake 
all possible and impossible things, and consider them- 
selves fortunate if they were not compelled to pay a fee 
for instruction. But though the new society ojQEered 
them by comparison such great advantages, I did not 
find contentment, and yet could not reproach them for 
dissatisfaction. They liked to call themselves the pariahs 
of society, for the most difficult tasks and the most un- 
pleasant duties were made over to them. Their elders 
held the lesson-book, and were amiable enough not to 
withhold a good training for life. And the sorest point 
was that thoughts of the future could afford them no' 
compensation for the present. The hopes and plans 
which swell the hearts of the young, the happy antici- 
pation of a home, a property, a business of their own, 
which helped so many over present trials, were totally 
abolished by the socialistic Government. There was 
nothing for ambition to seek, nothing to expect from 
the future except what lay plain and clear before them : 
the life of an animal whose days are divided between 
work and the manger. But did not this show shame- 
ful ingratitude? Did not the socialistic State afford 
them plenty of amusement? Did it not give playing 
and jesting, music and acting, pantomime and dancing ? 
Had not Bebel's solicitude removed every barrier to 
their wishes? But what can afford compensation to a 
young heart whose noblest impulses are fettered, and 
which therefore feels a void no sensual pleasures can 
fill? 

A second class who apparently must have gained by 
the exchange were all the older workmen, whose income 



188 ME. FBEDEEICK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

had been increased by the equal distribution. I had 
expected to find them content ; but here, too, I found 
myself mistaken. What they had gained was far below 
their anticipations. People had again calculated accord- 
ing to appearances and kept their pencils in their pock- 
ets. They had forgotten that glitter dazzles and appear- 
ances deceive ; that large sums, divided by large sums, , 
give but small quotients. If, instead of judging by the 
eyesight, they had reckoned with figures — and figures 
were not inaccessible to them — they would have per- 
ceived that their gain would be so small that every cri- 
sis, every fluctuation, every diminution in production, 
would lose it again. True, equalization had bestowed a 
larger sum than would have been the case a century be- 
fore, because wealth and capital had increased ; but this 
increasing wealth had occasioned an increasing demand 
for work, and this increasing demand had raised wages. 
Had socialization occurred a century feef ore, every work- 
man would have received a much smaller income than 
he earned as his daily wages before the change. And if 
the old order of things had remained until the present 
time, daily wages, in a few decades, would have exceeded 
the average modern income. Now, working-men have 
not only made any improvement in their condition im- 
possible, but they have rendered their position worse in 
the exact proportion that the diminution of socialistic 
production, the mistakes of the Government, the lessen- 
ing of the stimulus to labor, the deterioration of goods 
— apart from all perils to society — restricted the number 
of their pleasures. And all this was purchased at the 
cost of personal liberty. Man in the socialistic State has 
become a slave. Though society alone is ruler he is 
still a slave, because he has no free will, free decision, 
free movement. Every worm that creeps upon the earth 



IN ME. Bellamy's woeld. 189 

is a higher creature than he, for whether it turns to the 
right or to the left its own will directs its movements. 
Whether all laboring men understand their barter I can- 
not say, and am yet in doubt. But in many instances 
I could see that they had become aware of the bad bar- 
gain they had made, and that a vague suspicion had 
arisen in the minds of the great majority. So it was 
perfectly natural that, in these circles also, I found no 
unmixed pleasure. 

With the exception of the laboring class formerly 
most poorly paid and the young people just entering 
upon an active career, there was not a soul in this brill- 
iantly described Castle of Indolence who had not lost, 
in addition to liberty and independence, many beauti- 
ful pleasures. There was undoubtedly a minority, who 
might have been the happiest of all if they could have 
had the comfort of knowing that their sacrifices had 
purchased peace and happiness for mankind. But where 
was happiness, where was peace in this world? The 
feeling of happiness cannot pervade a soul which is not 
filled with the consciousness that it guides its own des- 
tiny, and peace cannbt dwell in a breast whose strongest 
impulses, the use of the will, the desire for gain, the 
strife for property, are fettered. 

How different were the people described by Mr. Bel- 
lamy! Envy was to have vanished with property! 
But those who did not manage their incomes economi- 
cally envied others who did. Those who squandered 
their substance in amusements envied the steady, sensi- 
ble people who knew how to maintain a comfortable 
home. Political and religious dissension was to have 
ceased ! But everybody was at war with a Government 
which had an impossible task to perform, and with the 
abolition of all aspiration, with release from anxiety, 



190 MB. FBEDEBICE EAST's EXFEBIENOES 

and the extinction of all individual interests, the incli- 
nation to religious investigation had awakened in many 
minds, and with the unconquerable desire to seek some- 
thing to fill the deep void in the soul, the old tendency 
to sectarianism began to spread. This very Utopia had 
become a hot-bed of religious hatred and intolerance. 
So there was no cause to wonder that I found no trace 
of satisfaction and joy. And little as the void existing 
in every heart gave rise to these feelings, the confusion 
everywhere existing afforded still less occasion for them. 
In this respect also no deception was possible, since I had 
so many proofs that Mr. Bellamy did not stick closely 
to facts. That with the immense diversity with whick 
all the useful treasures of the world are scattered over 
the earth according to the variations of soil and climate ; 
with the infinite multiplicity of objects whose enjoy- 
ment constitutes the existence of civilized life; with 
the incredible number of arrangements which are nec^ 
essary in order to obtain all these things at the right 
time — that this whole sum of labor, whose extent almost 
exceeds the power or imagination, should be directed 
and managed by mere human foresight and human abil- 
ity from a single place was so foolish that I could not 
help being amazed that I had cherished a single doubt 
concerning the fact for an instant. The business inter- 
course of society, as it existed before the interference of 
social democracy, was a creation of far too much mag- 
nitude not to reveal the ruling hand of a higher power, 
and if human intelligence deemed itself wise enough 
to regulate this mysterious movement like a clock or a 
machine, it only showed that innate arrogant ignorance 
which neither angel nor God can illumine. 

The real marvel in the mechanism of the former so- 
cial system consisted in the fact that a vast multitude 



A 



IN MB. Bellamy's woeld. 191 

of laborers, scattered over tlie whole earth, not one of 
whom was consciously pursuing any other aim than that 
of satisfying his own needs, nevertheless in a certain 
sense formed a whole, that in every quarter of the globe 
a table was spread for men, from which they could 
choose according to their taste, so far as they had the 
means to purchase. Every task was the work of an 
individual will, but no will considered any other object 
than a purely personal one. Yet this multiplication of 
apparently independent tasks produced, as a total result, 
the ability to purchase in the South the products of the 
]^orth, and in the ]^orth what the sun of the South had 
created; that where men had thronged in far greater 
numbers than the soil could feed, a sufficient supply 
of provisions was attainable; that in the incessant 
circulation, the production and use, the buying and 
selling, new powers were produced in the form of cap- 
ital, by which, in the same way, the productions of 
labor and the purchasing ability of men constantly in- 
creased. 

To make these individual tasks of men the common 
work of the human race. Nature had used special means. 
She had implanted in their hearts the love of prosperity 
and the desire for gain. She had awakened in every 
one the disposition to strive to obtain a high price for 
his own wares, while he secured those of others at a 
low one ; and, by creating a strife between buyers and 
sellers, had caused the relation of supply and demand 
to so fix the value of work that labor should go where 
its value was highest ; that, obeying in a certain sense 
the law of gravity, productions went where there was 
a deficiency, and shunned the places where there was 
superabundance. And at the same time she had made 
men accustomed to use, in buying and selling, money 



192 MB. FBEDERIOE £IAJ9t's EXFBBIENOES 

as a tool which rendered every exchange of their pro- 
ductions possible. 

But society was still in the process of growing. It 
had sprung from small seeds, and its increase was beset 
with difficulties. Men had interfered with Mother Nat- 
ure's work by war and destruction, by the restriction 
of the rights of property, by fettering the impulse 
of gain, by obstructions in the interchange of commod- 
ities, and their folly rendered it impossible for her, in 
thousands of years, to provide all with sufficient pur- 
chasing power. At first few were rich; yet spite of all 
the interruptions of folly, the number of those who were 
prosperous continually increased, and this rapid growth 
showed that the future of society would develop still 
more happily. But envy and malice dimmed the eyes 
of men, and would not let them perceive that the weaJth 
of individuals contained the condition of diffusing pros- 
perity elsewhere, and wealth itself, according to the fate 
of all things earthly, was subject to the process of grad- 
ual growth. It roused their displeasure to see the mi- 
nority fare better than the majority, and they resolved 
to transform at one blow this growing society into a 
completed one. 

And how have men endeavored to attain this ? By a 
very summary process. They have thrust Mother Nat- 
ure from her throne and put social democracy in her 
exalted seat. The law of value, that is, has been flung 
into the waste-paper basket, the tool of traffic has been 
walled up in vaults, and love of property and desire for 
gain have been withdrawn from men. From this time 
forth the sole ruler was human intelligence, which dis- 
dained such wretched aid. 

Will the reader believe that I did not find socialized 
society in a condition of perfection ? That human in- 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 193 

tellect on the throne of Nature was not free from error? 
In truth, many things were going wrong. Articles peo- 
pie desired to buy were frequently not to be found, 
and those they did find did not always suit their tastes. 
Things whose manufacture required accuracy were often 
very tolerable, except that the work lacked precision. 
Perishable articles frequently showed plainly that they 
had been originally of excellent quality, and would still 
be if they had received proper treatment. Where meat 
was wanted it frequently could not be had, and where it 
was not desired there was a superabundance. 

But I needed only to look around the workshops to 
convince myself that it would have been impossible for 
even the most capable management, endowed with the 
gift of omniscience, to have everything in the right pro- 
portion, the right quality, and at the right place. The 
organization of the work was probably faultless. The 
strictest regulations determined the intercourse of offi- 
cials, and the closest watch was maintained to insure 
that every one kept within the limits assigned and that 
no one exceeded his powers. But the fact that it was 
necessary to create such an organization, that each in- 
dividual official had to follow, not the inspiration of the 
moment, but the regulations imposed upon him, that a 
fixed rule governed every occurrence, often occasioned 
disturbances which were out of harmony with the nat- 
ure of the production. 

I found the manufactories the best organized of all 
business pursuits. Government control is better adapt- 
ed to this sphere of labor than to any other. Here ma- 
chinery, with its regularity, is the guiding power, and 
the whole work has to undergo the fewest interrup- 
tions. But here, too, the equality of compensation was 
an unconquerable evil influence in the quality and ex- 

18 



194 MB. FBEDEBIOK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

tent of the work. Though a manufactory can b6 kept 
running with comparative ease, its products are first of 
all dependent upon the mental powers, which have a by 
no means easy and very responsible task in selecting the 
fabrics to be made, securing the raw material, and direct- 
ing the labor. To manage the laboring force satisfac- 
torily had not always been easy, even during the former 
method of production. An eflEort was made to secure 
workmen by associating their personal interest with the 
prosperity of the business. But personal interests had 
no existence in the socialistic State, and it seemed only 
natural that superintendents and minor officials who, 
spite of their wider range of work, were on precisely 
the same footing as the rest of the men, should not take 
the responsibility in the most careful way, or exert their 
powers to the utmost. This evil was most apparent in 
the machine shops, where the utility of the articles man- 
ufactured most largely depends upon the mental power 
of the manager. Here the detriment was most visible, 
and I often had an opportunity to see and hear that 
machines of all kinds had greatly deteriorated in light- 
ness of running and in development of power. 

But manufacturing is only a small portion of the 
whole department of labor. Every other kind of in- 
dustry lacks the regularity with which machinery car- 
ries on the course of work, and therefore is much less 
suited to be directed from a certain place according to 
universal rules. All personal services, the whole trans- 
portation of materials and products, all special arrange- 
ments of work which are dependent upon the trans- 
portation of goods, such as loading and unloading, 
delivering, storing, and keeping, cannot be regulated by 
orders issued, but must be governed by the needs which 
arise. To force them all into the mould of a normal 



rs MB. Bellamy's woeld. 195 

working-daj^ could be planned only by persons ignorant 
of their nature and purpose. Therefore, I could feel no 
surprise at finding in every such department of work 
the most incredible confusion. All economy in utiliz- 
ing power was lacking. There was an extravagant ex- 
penditure of time and labor, which made the Chancel- 
lor's statement that the combined industry of the human 
race no longer afforded the same amount of pleasure 
only too intelligible. 

But the farming! This was the department of in- 
dustry specially recommended to my notice. Why had 
Mr. Bellamy skipped over this remarkably important 
branch of production with such incredible ease ? Evi- 
dently because he knew nothing about farming and had 
no idea of the difficulties with which it has to contend, 
or to what degree the variety of circumstances and the 
frequency of disturbances prevent the regularity with- 
out which fixed rules cannot be obeyed. 

I do not deny that I have seen little to commend dur- 
ing my expeditions. Everywhere the ejffort was being 
made to consolidate small enterprises into large ones, 
and to establish in large ones the rules of theory and 
science. Why should not this be done ? Even in for- 
mer days the larger extents of country were farmed from 
a central point. Even in former days the management 
of estates had sometitnes been confided to a person who 
was neither the owner nor the tenant, but who found in 
the sense of duty the motive power of industry. 

And such management had often been admirable and 
brought to the idle owners a large revenue. But only 
a small portion of the cultivated plains of our native 
country were farmed on a large scale ; of this small por- 
tion few estates were managed by stewards, and fewer 
still brought in a net profit. The great majority were 



196 MB. FBEDEBICK EAST^S EXPERIENCES 

under the master's own eye, and self-interest had dic- 
tated the management, improvements, and economies. 
Self-interest had stimulated the owner to adapt powers 
and faculties to the qualities of the soil. What was more 
natural than that I should not find in socialistic agri- 
culture that minute care in the expenditure of strength 
and the use of means which self-interest had formerly- 
commanded ? 

As I have said, I found much that was good in the agri- 
cultural system. There were many capable men among 
the managing officials, and most of them endeavored to 
distinguish themselves by excellent work. Their posi- 
tion depended upon this, for none of them would have 
liked to be degraded to the rank of a laborer. To pro- 
duce the largest quantities of grain, to send a great deal 
of milk or butter to the markets, to furnish the butchers 
with the finest fatted cattle, was the ambition I found 
everywhere, and my examination of account-books con- 
vinced me that the land produced as much as could be 
expected, taking into consideration the quality of the 
soil, the climate, and the weather. But the business was 
made very easy for the managers because none of them 
had to contend with any difficulties in obtaining help. 
No one had a penny to expend for wages, manure, ma- 
chines, agricultural implements, etc. The source which 
had to provide for everything gave them what they re- 
quired. Whether the revenue equalled the expenditures 
was no concern of theirs. There was only a rough esti- 
mate of receipts, no net profits, and no one was in a po- 
sition to calculate whether an estimate of receipts and 
expenditures would show a balance which could be con- 
sidered as a profit on the enterprise. 

I, too, found it impossible to make a calculation of the 
gain derived from agriculture. I could see in the books 



m MB. Bellamy's world. 197 

how many bushels of grain, how much milk and butter, 
how many cattle had been delivered ; I could learn how 
many days' labor had been expended, and what amount 
of raw material, machines, etc., had been used ; but I 
lacked data by which to estimate values. I could calcu- 
late from the credit cards the value of a day's labor, but 
to fix the value of everything used in agriculture would 
scarcely have been possible. These things did not enter 
into the account, and had an attempt been made to 
ascertain the price, according to the work spent upon 
them, agriculture would have fared too well or too ill — 
too well, in so far as that the help of capital could not 
be estimated ; too ill, in so far as that labor under the 
socialistic method was by no means too energetically 
carried on. 

" Farming is a special affair now," said one manager, 
who was not over-scrupulous. " It is hard or easy, ac- 
cording to our way of taking it. Hard, because we are 
subjected to constant control; easy, because we don't 
have to inquire about the expenses. Any manager 
would be a simpleton who permitted the Board of In- 
spectors to find anything which resembled disorder and 
afforded occasion for censure in the report. True, these 
gentlemen fare badly in this respect, for if they find 
nothing amiss to report, their superiors think they did 
not keep their eyes open. But, thank Heaven, we can 
arrange ta have the necessary number of laborers at any 
moment, and need not rack our brains about getting 
time for less important matters. We provide ourselves 
with so large a force of laborers for every season that 
we can never have any lack." 

" But you must often be troubled to find occupation 
for all these hands." 

" The workmen relieve us of that difficulty. We find 



198 W3L. FBEDEBIOK EASt's SXPEBISNOES 

no fault if they spare their strength in less hurried 
times, and they soon perceive that we are glad if they 
don't over-fatigue themselves. Nor is it difficult for us 
to keep our lands in good condition. Niggardliness in 
teams would be great folly, and too lavish use of corn — 
which would be unwise, because it would lessen the 
amount of the supply of grain on which our reputation 
depends — we avoid by using artificial food. We never 
trouble ourselves about horses, machines, or agricultural 
implements which have any trifling defect. They are 
simply rejected and replaced with new ones. The cat- 
tle kept for breeding are the very best — ^the Government 
must furnish them — and we pour out all the money we 
can get hold of on chemical fertilizers. Such farming 
is interesting, but one must ponder over it. The rule is : 
Don't let your neighbors outdo you in production." 

Aye, such a system of farming may well be interest- 
ing. I was not so fortunately situated when, in my 
young days, I managed an estate, and it was still less easy 
when I conducted my farming with my own capital. I 
was forced to accommodate myself to circumstances, and 
should have fared badly had I not directed all my skill 
and care to making receipts and expenses balance. It 
was very evident that such a system of management 
could not fail to awaken the Chancellor's anxiety, and I 
did not need to ponder concerning the reason that farm- 
ing absorbed so much of the industrial force. Lack of 
economy, waste of time, and waste of material were the 
reasons that production and receipts stood in unhealthy 
relations. But it was not so easy a matter to find the 
remedy. 

Within a few weeks my second task was also com- 
pleted, and I could only wonder that the solution of the 
riddle had not occurred to me at once. ^^Many ^ one 



IN MB. BELLAMT^S WOBLD. 199 

has mickle care to raise a flock of poultry rare," runs an 
old song. But where were the " many " who could under- 
take this care ? More than five million farms had been 
given up. The majority of these had had their own 
poultry-yards, and, besides, there were countless places 
outside of the farming districts where "mickle care" 
had been devoted to raising poultry. The little farms 
had been consolidated intp large ones, and each had its 
poultry.yard. But the number of the flocks of poultry 
was everywhere regulated by the size of the poultry- 
yards, and the latter could not possibly contain a tithe 
of the hens, ducks, geese, etc., which had formerly been 
raised on the multitude of small farms. Yet it was not 
possible to raise poultry without spacious poultry-yards, 
because they must have room to move about, and do not 
thrive in constant confinement. 

There had been some discussion concerning the fea- 
sibility of devoting large tracts of land to poultry raising, 
but the nature of hens and the value of the soil for pro- 
ducing crops were obstacles. Successful as man has 
been in taming poultry, it has been impossible to over 
come certain traits of wilfulness. They do not only need 
space in which to move, but also room to peck grass, 
scratch, and hunt for worms, and these things, which are 
absolutely necessary for their welfare, require an amount 
of space which, if devoted to any kind of grain, would 
yield far more profit than all the eggs a hen can lay dur- 
ing the year. The latter, moreover, requires care and no 
small amount of food. 

So it was a perfectly natural consequence of the ap- 
propriation of the land by the Government that a by no 
means inconsiderable branch of production had dwindled 
to a very insignificant one. No doubt a substitute for 
the meat of poultry could be obtained, but not for the 



200 MB. FREDEBIOK BAST'S BXPEBIEKOBS 

egg, and the egg is of the utmost importance in the food 
of the population. 

There had never been any statistics in former times 
concerning the production of eggs, but people can 
scarcely be mistaken in estimating their value at hun- 
dreds of millions. And these large sums, moreover, were 
obtained in a certain sense without labor, for the labor of 
caring for poultry was not taken into accoupt. There 
was no regular day's work about it, and whoever under- 
took the business did so for the sake of the profit, and 
without fear of the toil. 

The absorption of production by the Government was 
also the cause of the loss of honey. This, too, represented 
a considerable value, was useful for many purposes, and 
could be obtained in large quantities, because there was 
no lack of persons to whom a profitable employment of 
time was not undesirable, and who certainly did not re- 
linquish with pleasure an avocation which yielded them 
a profit in addition to their regular calling. 

How large a laboring force had been taken from the 
human race by the appropriation of the land! In all 
these millions of small farming industries a great deal of 
work had been done which, in a certain sense, was addi- 
tional. The great number of persons who lived by sup- 
plying cartage devoted their land to the purpose of rais- 
ing food and grain, and took no notice of the labor which 
it cost them. The work was done, as it were, during un- 
occupied time, or night was sometimes turned into day. 
These people had more interest in carrying on their 
farming than in the far-famed blessings of the normal 
day's work. Their farming was a source of profit, and 
the labor which created the profit was a source of pleas- 
ure. And how many people who worked for daily wages 
had their little farms, which gave them much additional 



\ 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 201 

support, and were tilled in leisure hours or by their 
wives and children. They found happiness and content- 
ment in them, and the simplicity of their mode of life, 
the healthf ulness of the occupation, were refreshing to 
mind and body. The socialization of society has re- 
moved all these sources of pleasure, and by depriving 
many millions of lives of the most useful stimulus — the 
consciousness of liberty and a beautiful source of enjoy- 
ment — it has robbed agriculture of its best strength, for 
which the dulness of the regulation day's labor affords 
no compensation. 

I had performed my task in so far that I had discov- 
ered the sources of the evils which were causing the 
Chancellor so much anxiety. But more was still re- 
quired of me, and concerning these points I vainly 
racked my brains. I was to give suggestions for a 
remedy, and found nothing to furnish the smallest hint 
of one. Could I propose that the Government should 
vouchsafe to put the whole cargo of socialism on a ship, 
and despatch it under a full head of steam to the land 
of fools ? 

The advice might not have been entirely safe, for Gov- 
ernment methods must not be made ridiculous, and I 
could not imagine that people in the socialistic com- 
munity were wholly free from sensitiveness. But it 
would not even have showed great wisdom, for the plan 
would only have conjured up fresh disaster. Had the 
Government desired to restore property to private hands, 
people could not have agreed concerning land, houses, 
workshops, ships, or railroads. 

Or should I recommend to the Government to divide 
the land into shares, and leave every one to obtain his 
or her own support ? This would have been still worse, 
for there was not land enough for half the people, and 



202 MB. FREDERICK EASt's EXPEBIEKOES 

its distance from the place where they worked would 
have been too great for the majority. Or should agri- 
culture be carried on by private enterprise and every- 
thing else be managed on the socialistic system ? This 
would have led to warfare between the inhabitants of 
town and country. Business would have been conducted 
partly on the basis of money, partly on that of credit 
cards, and there would have been no end of quarrelling. 

No matter how much I tortured my poor brains, I 
could find no expedient to suggest. It seemed to be the 
curse of socialism that its defects were irremediable. 
Like all things earthly, it is oppressed with evils, but if 
there is no escape from these evils the whole system of 
society must break down. 

Hitherto I had contented myself with forwarding 
from time to time reports in which I merely stated what 
places I had visited, and what matters had seemed to 
me specially worthy of note in my investigations. My 
opinions and suggestions of improvement were to be 
embodied in the final report, and my only comfort was 
that the time for it was still tolerably far in the future. 
But the more this distance daily diminished^ the more 
uncomfortable I felt. 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 203 



CHAPTER IX. 

A HAPPY EVENT AND A BIT OF BAD NEWS. 

DuBiNO the latter half of January there was a brief 
interruption in my travels. An invitation from Sister 
Martha to attend her — wedding, induced me to ask leave 
of absence for a few days and return to my lodgings in 
Berlin. 

The matter was not wholly unexpected, as I had main- 
tained a constant correspondence with her. Shortly after 
my departure early in December she had received from 
Albert Croner a letter which suggested this result. 

The young man, after severe toils and conflicts, had 
at last conquered. He had traversed all Asia in quest of 
a position that suited his qualifications. IS^ow here, now 
there, a glimmer of hope had shone upon him, but the race 
jealousy of the natives and the intrigues of foreign ad- 
venturers had always destroyed his prospects. Scarcely 
did he 'obtain a situation where he hoped to make his 
abilities valuable, ere he found himself crowded out 
again, and he had gone from country to country, sup- 
porting himself by arduous daily toil. Amid all calami- 
ties and deprivations one ardent passion had sustained 
him. His soul was filled with rapture when his bright 
hopes turned to the dear object of his love in his dis- 
tant native country. Since he had tested her heroic 
character, her gigantic power of self-sacrifice, the glow- 
ing warmth of affection had been fanned to a consum- 
ing flame which urged him on in restless strife. He 



204 MB. FBEDEBIOK BAST'S BXFBBIBNOBS 

seemed to himself like some fairy prince, who must 
force a passage through a thorny forest to a sleeping 
princess and a royal crown. 

After years of wandering he had at last won the 
friendship of an Englishman, who, having settled in 
Japan, was taking a journey through the western dis- 
tricts to establish connections for a large manufactur 
ing enterprise in which he was a partner. This prac- 
tical man soon recognized the admirable abilities of 
the engineer, and justly appreciating how valuable his 
energetic nature, wealth of knowledge, and honest mind 
would be in the businesSyhe had persuaded him to turn 
his steps to Japan, and, with a letter of recommendation 
from him, seek employment in the great establishment. 
Albert had not been reluctant to yield to his persua- 
sions, and after several years' work in the business had 
had the good-fortune to be ojffered the position of man- 
ager and a share in the profits. He had now reached 
the goal of his desires, and for the first time penned a 
letter to the woman he loved. He described to her all 
that he had endured and suffered, told her that he had 
at last gained an assured position, and asked whether she 
who was so dear to him would share, in a land so far 
from her native country, a life which, with her, would 
be one of happiness, without her only a sea of pain and 
grief. 

Sister Martha did not delay her answer. Directly 
after receiving his letter she fiashed to him, with the 
lightning speed of the telegraph, the brief words : " I 
will go with you to any spot in the world where I can 
be your wife." A few hours later she had a reply, in- 
forming her that her lover had set out to secure his 
jewel. 

Albert Croner had now arrived. His time was short. 



i 



IN MK. Bellamy's woeld. 205- 

and the wedding was to take place as soon as possible. 
With the exception of myself and a few school friends 
of the couple, no one was invited save the Hormanns, 
Herr Hermann's sister, and Herr Biichner. I had ex- 
pected the event, and it had been a delightful thought 
that two such noble natures were to be rewarded for 
their virtues in this desolate world. 

Yet when I entered a train to go to the ceremony my 
heartfelt joy was blended with deep sorrow. This happy 
event was robbing me of my dearest friend, the only 
creature in this new world to whom I felt bound by any 
tie. The sense of happiness which stole over me when, 
after a long withdrawal from life I found myself for the 
first time in this new epoch, had given place to contra- 
dictory emotions. I saw myself transported to a world of 
human beings who labored, fed, and clothed themselves, 
jested and danced like human beings, but were robbed 
by their social system of all those loftier motives which 
make men really men. Existence was narrowed, life 
purposeless. How should I endure existence in this 
society after losing my only friend? And yet how 
happy a dispensation of Providence I must regard the 
fate which removed two human beings, so nobly gifted, 
from a sphere which denied them the exercise of their 
brightest virtues. After Herr Biichner and I had ac- 
companied the young couple to the magistrate's office, 
we went to a casino, where in one room stood a table 
covered with pretty wedding gifts, and in another a little 
supper was spread. 

The union of the pair for life was a charming cere- 
mony to witness. Albert, with a look of pride, stand- 
ing by the side of the bride he had won by such arduous 
struggles, and she smiling happily, though tears often 
glittered on her cheeks as she thought of bidding fare- 



' 206 MB. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENCES 

well to the places and people she most warmly loved. 
He, the living embodiment of German vigor, for whom 
the socialized country had become too narrow; she, the 
sweet incarnation of German love, whose moral nature 
socialism knew not how to value. None of those present 
could help being deeply stirred by such a ceremony. 
Everybody was both joyful and sad. When, late in the 
afternoon, we accompanied the newly -wedded pair to 
the station — they were going to Hamburg, whence they 
were to sail the next morning — even we men found it 
difficult to restrain our tears. " May God's blessing go 
with you from the land which shuts out German strength 
and German love !" I cried. " Teach foreign nations to 
honor the virtues which were once the pride of every 
German." 

I gazed after the train long after it had vanished ; I 
took no heed of what was passing around me. The 
Hermanns had quietly retired, probably because the 
formality of taking leave would have been too hard for 
them. Herr Blichner came up and slipped his hand 
through my arm. 

" I think there will be no more work done to-day," he 
said, in his pleasant, cordial manner. "If we sit alone in 
our offices all these things wUl stir our hearts and our 
heads will not grow cool. It will be better for us to 
spend this evening together." 

" I think so too," I replied. "I should have the queer- 
est fancies if I were left to my own thoughts to-night." 

"Well, then, I'll make you a proposal: The Philo- 
mathic Society meets at eight o'clock, and that will afford 
us the best possible diversion. Let us take a roundabout 
way to my house, where I expect some important papers; 
then we'll find an hour's time to get a' cup of coffee in 
some restaurant." 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 207 

» 
He took my arm, and we set oflE. On our way he 

told me about this Philomathic Society. It had been 
formed three years before, and its members met on a 
certain evening every week. It consisted principally of 
men of science, professors, teachers, physicians, higher 
officials, etc. The purpose of the society was to relieve, 
by the discussion of general scientific questions, the dul- 
ness into which intellectual life had fallen in the social- 
istic community. 

The intention was less to get material for conversa- 
tion, by carefully-prepared essays, than to have a free 
discussion of any topics chance might furnish. If the 
talk turned upon any subject relating to a department of 
knowledge comparatively unfamiliar, the president was 
authorized, in compliance with the wish of the assembly, 
to appoint some one competent to deal with it. 

Herr Blichner spoke with great interest of this society, 
which afforded him many an hour's diversion, and as- 
sured me that it would greet me as a guest with much 
pleasure. What could have been more welcome to me 
for this evening ? 

I gratefully accepted the offer of introducing me into 
the society, and, engaged in pleasant conversation, we 
strolled through the streets. After a long circuit we 
reached the Bureau of Statistics, where Herr Blichner 
wished to settle some little matters of business. I took 
an arm-chair, while he glanced through several docu- 
ments. 

Scarcely had he finished when his eye fell on a 
small note which had been hidden under other papers. 
With a look of surprise he tore it open, and I noticed 
that, as he read the contents, his face wore an expres- 
tiion of intense amazement. In perfect silence, though 
he looked very much excited, he handed me the sheet. 



\ 



208 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST's EXPEBIENOES 

The note was in the Chancellor's hand, and after I had 
managed to decipher the unfamiliar scrawl a feeling of 
terror seized upon me. The hasty words were : 

" My dear Buchner,— ^I should like to see you a few 
minutes early to-morrow morning. Strange news has 
arrived. A general war has broken out in Central Asia, 
and seems to be involving all countries and races. Our 
ambassador urgently entreats us to send no more goods, 
and to recall those already despatched." 

So what the Chancellor had feared weeks since as a 
crushing blow had happened. We remained in helpless 
silence. Herr Biichner paced restlessly up and down 
the room, and it was long ere he could give utterance to 
his perplexity and grief. 

"Now the social democratic gentry will reap what 
they have sowed !" he suddenly exclaimed. " This is a 
fine piece of business ! One would not have supposed 
such folly possible! To establish in a densely peopled 
country, which can get neither bite nor sup without a 
colossal importation of food, a social system which 
leaves it helpless as soon as exportation is cut off! From 
blind hatred of innocent capital they rage against what 
constituted their own wealth. It's just about as sensible 
as though a millionaire threw all his money out of the 
window when he had neither bread nor meat in his 
house." 

Since my conversation with the Chancellor, I had 
clearly perceived what serious results might follow any 
interruption of the commercial relations with Central 
Asia. But my temperament would not permit me to 
admit instantly the utter hopelessness of affairs. Men 
and nations have too frequently found means of escape 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 209 

from the worst dilemma, and recalling many such in- 
cidents in my own life, as well as in history, I could not 
believe that in this instance a crisis would actually make 
the heavens fall. It was a trait of my character that, 
even in cases where I was myself no less painfully af- 
fected than others, I felt an unconquerable desire to 
offer consolation. I therefore alluded to the terrible 
penury from which Germany suffered during the French 
invasion early in the nineteenth century, and which at 
the end of a few decades was followed by a period of 
remarkable prosperity. 

" But did the Germans have a social democratic Gov- 
ernment at that time ?" he asked. 

" Certainly not," I replied, " but the war had robbed 
people very heavily. The farmers suffered from a 
scarcity of cattle and seed, and manufactures and com- 
merce were paralyzed." 

"But the people still had capital, no matter how much 
it had diminished," he answered. " And this remnant 
of capital helped them to sow the fields, raise cattle, and 
set the wheels of trade once more in motion. Where 
but a glimmer of this force lingers, it can quickly 
gather strength and diffuse blessings and prosperity. 
Nothing produces nothing, and men will hardly find 
means to create treasures by labor so long as they lack 
any possibility of furnishing the hungry with bread and 
meat." 

" But only a part of the nation's food supply would 
be lost. A certain amount of this can be made good 
by wise economy, and what is still lacking the agricult- 
ural countries would doubtless give on credit." 

"Ha! ha! ha!" the old man suddenly shouted. 

" The agricultural countries furnish anything on credit ! 

They are all as poor as church mice. They will lack 
14 



210 MB. FBEDEBICK EASt's EXFESIENCES 

coats, hosiery, shirts, garments, etc., if they can't get 
rid of their superfluous grain, and if they were to give 
us their grain on credit they would be forced to dis- 
pense with the necessaries of life. Besides — ^" and 
pausing in his restless pacing up and down the room 
he gazed at me with dilated eyes — "how should we 
pay them for what they loan us i^ 

" Why, we would gradually pay our debts with the 
increased productions of our factories." 

But Herr Biichner grew still more excited. 

" The increased productions of our factories! Where, 
if I may ask, are we to obtain these increased produc- 
tions?" 

"Would a manufacturing nation be unable to pro- 
duce anything which would be gladly purchased in an 
agricultural country ?" 

" Explain yourself a little more clearly, my dear fel- 
low. Cotton goods? Ready-made shirts? Woollens 
for men and women ? Ready-made garments ? Stock- 
ings ? Silks ? Beer ? Paper ? Chemicals ? Bags or 
other jute goods ? All these things require raw materials. 
We need wool, silk, jute, barley, rags, and Heaven knows 
what, to manufacture them. How are we to buy all 
these materials ?" 

" Well, I by no means fail to perceive the difficulties. 
But, after all, the result will be the same as before. 
We shall exchange manufactured products for these 
raw materials." 

" It's all very well to talk about exchanging when we 
no longer know where to find the goods whose sale will 
protect us from famine. Don't you see that we must 
give up to the agricultural countries whatever they can 
use, even if the supply is over abundant? Don't you 
perceive that all other manufacturing countries must do 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 211 

the same ? That all the products of our factories will 
be as cheap as blackberries ? And if we are obliged to 
use a much larger quantity of goods for the purchase of 
provisions, how much will be left to buy raw materials? 
And if we are compelled to restrict ourselves in the 
purchase of raw materials, where, next year, are we to 
obtain manufactured products to barter for food and 
raw materials ? We shall have an increased lack of raw 
material, and, as a consequence, an increased deficiency 
ill the supply of manufactured products. And so it 
will go on like an avalanche." 

"True," I was forced to admit, "in that case the 
Chancellor's prediction will be verified. Then we shall 
be in the position of ha^ng the Government unable to 
give the people employment, and lack of work will cause 
starvation and freezing." 

At heart I was no less aware of the hopelessness of 
the situation than he. Only the desire to cheer him a 
little in his depression, and a vague feeling that possibly 
some hidden means of safety might yet be found, had 
urged me to oppose his views. Even now I could not 
resist the desire to clutch at a straw or anything else 
which could serve as a possible aid. 

" It is indeed a bad state of affairs," I added. " But 
what is the use of constantly conjuring up visions of 
ruin ? Many a man has despaired who, contrary to his 
anticipations, has afterwards had the happiest life. The 
destinies of nations are also subject to change, and many 
a people, once crushed and desolate, has attained power 
and greatness. How nobly our own native land has often 
risen after violent storms !" 

" My dear fellow," replied Herr Biichner, an expres- 
sion of deep melancholy clouding his eyes, usually so 
sparkling, "the cirQumst^nces were entirely different. 



212 MK. FREDEBICK EAST'S EXPERIENOES 

Then people lived according to the laws of nature. No 
law, no command, prevented them from accumulating 
property, and their desire for gain led them to increase 
what they possessed. At first only a few succeeded, but 
everything gained aided, in its quality of capital, in the 
acquisition of more capital, and thus formed a working 
power for society which rendered the permanent in- 
crease of production possible and diffused wider pros- 
perity. However strongly the owners of property en- 
deavored to hold and to augment their possessions, all 
their selfishness could not prevent the capital-making 
power of these possessions and their own increasing 
wants from benefiting the productions of all the labor 
of society. But have we now a society in which the 
germs of wealth, capable by constant increase of spread- 
ing over larger districts, can develop? This equalization 
and envy of all property prevent the greatef intelligence, 
greater talents, and greater power of the individual from 
being useful to mankind by unusual achievements." 

During this conversation time had vanished, and just 
as Herr Biichner finished his sentence the clock in the 
room struck eight, the hour when the society met. 

" We are forgetting the time," he said. " We will not 
depress our spirits further. The outcome has long been 
no secret, and all our talking can be of no service." 

His face assumed its former cheerful expression as, 
taking my arm, we walked swiftly to the meeting of the 
Philomathic Society. 



IN Ur. bellamy^s woitui). SlS 



CHAPTER X. 

HOW THE SCHOLARS OF THE SOCIALISTIC STATE REGARD 
THE TARIFF SYSTEM OF THE PAST. 

We found a large company assembled, and I had the 
pleasure of making the acquaintance of many extremely 
interesting persons. All the learned professions were 
largely represented, and many older gentlemen, who 
had formerly belonged to other circles, attended the 
meeting of the society. 

The information which Herr Blichner had obtained 
from the Chancellor had already reached the assembly, 
and had been communicated from lip to lip. Most of 
the gentlemen were aware of its importance, and the 
future of the Government, as well as the measures to be 
adopted, were eagerly discussed. 

" Ought we not, in such a situation, to profit by the 
same means which people formerly used in critical times 
— the protective policy?" asked an old philologist, who 
was probably better versed in Greek syntax than in polit- 
ical economy. 

" Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Herr Biichuer, who meanwhile 
had regained his cheerful mood, " would you offer us a 
means of escape by making bread so dear that we should 
be disgusted with eating ?" 

" Or would you incite the agidcultural countries to 
make our sales harder by taxing manufactures ?" said 
Counsellor Weinbauer. 

A general outburst of mirth followed. Most of those 



^14 USL. FBEDEBldlBt: MAST^S £^£2&t£l^C£d 

present had special knowledge enough to be aware that 
protective duties, like all other taxeS) were forbidden . . , 
things in the socialistic State, ffx -}^^^o ^ , \\U . " or" V, c 

" A policy of protection coilld not be introduced into 
the socialistic world," said the Professor of History, Dr. 
Hergenroth. " But in my opinion, during a crisis such 
as is impending to-day, a wise system of protection would 
be a remedy not to be despised." 

" That would be a remedy for the crisis similar to giv- 
ing Glauber salts for dyspepsia or quinine for buzzing 
in the ears !" cried Herr Stillfried, an ex-banker, some- 
what abruptly. 

" Protective duties have been of no service in either 
good or evil days," said the thin voice of Registrar Heim- 
holz. 

" Protective duties have restored prosperity to many 
a languishing branch of industry," retorted the bass 
tones of Dr. Monzel. 

These were the last coherent words I heard. The 
conversation became so general and so animated that all 
the voices blended in a medley. After a long time 
Professor Hergenroth's obstinacy gained him a hearing. 

" The facts of history by no means show that protec- 
tive duties are not useful," he cried. " Bismarck saved 
the country by their aid during the crisis of 1878." 

" In 1878 the crisis had already passed, and the pro- 
' tective duties merely conjured up a new one, ha! ha! 
ha 1" interjected Herr Biichner. 

But the irregular debate was now closed. Dr. 
Schlempke, a teacher in the gymnasia, tapped on his 
beer-glass, and, rising from his chair, said : 

" Gentlemen, the subject under consideration belongs 
to the past, and possesses merely a scientific interest. 
If any question ever required a discussion by specialists 



tK MB. BELLAMY^S WOBLf^. 215 

it is this. I appeal to l^o. 7 of our statutes, and request 
the president to appoint the speaker." 

President " If the assembly agree to this proposal 
(universal assent), it is my duty to seek some one who is 
competent to discuss the question of protective duties. 
We have the pleasure of seeing among us this evening 
our universally esteemed Professor Bergfall, whose com- 
prehensive investigations of the system of the customs 
duties of the past has won so much approval. I request 
the professpr to undertake the report of this question." 

The choice was greeted with general applause, and 
the professor accepted with thanks the honor bestowed 
upon him. A short pause ensued, during which glasses 
were^jfillfilj and cigars were lighted. Then Professor 
Bergfall rose. 

ADDRESS OF PROFESSOR BERGFALL. 

" Gentlemen : You do not desire a long introduction 
concerning the nature and purpose of protective duties; 
but I may perhaps request your indulgent attention to 
a brief one. Only by following the growth of things 
can we thoroughly understand them. 

" Undoubtedly the protective duties originated in a 
laudable purpose. In order to find work for the lower 
classes. Governments had endeavored, by fixing high 
duties on certain manufactured articles, to keep out 
foreign productions, that they might afford home indus- 
tries an opportunity to attain technical perfection with- 
out the disturbance of competition. 

" In the course of time this originally simple purpose 
became widened, as the mercantile idea that the wealth 
of a nation depended upon the amount of its money 
gained credence. 



Sl6 MB. FBEDEBIOK EAST^S EXPESIENOEd 

" In order to draw money into the country, people 
strove to promote the exportation of goods and to pre- 
vent importation. For the one object they endeavored 
to encourage home industry by the offer of bonuses and 
other means, and to attain the other by prohibiting im- 
portations and by protective duties. 

" In this idea of the mercantile class we recognize a 
child of the Middle Ages. Its father was the narrow- 
minded spii'it which beheld in every labor of others a 
hostile purpose, in every token of others' prosperity in- 
jury to self-interest. Its mother was the petty jealousy 
which watches with envy and disapproval every success 
of a putative rival. The mediaeval man was petty in 
every respect. He knew no patriotism save that for 
his' Church, and the flag of his interests scarcely waved 
beyond the confines of his place of residence. With il- 
liberal folly, countries, provinces, districts, cities, town 
and country stood aloof from one another, and in ac- 
cordance with this narrow-mindedness, which would al- 
low no perception of the connection of interests, this 
mercantile system was also but a symbol of the short- 
sightedness which characterized the life of those days. 
In the course of my explanations I shall find opportu- 
nity to show you the contradictions in which the idea 
of this system stands in relation to the true nature of 
commercial activity. Even the darkness of the Middle 
Ages, however, was dispelled by the golden morning 
of knowledge, whose light forced its way into every 
sphere, and since the last quarter of the eighteenth 
century the rays of investigation have penetrated even 
the mysterious organization of the social body. "We. 
have learned to regard the business activity of men as 
one great whole, striving with a variety of interests 
towards a single goal — that of service to all mankind. 



IN MB. BfiLtAMY^S WOBLD. 217 

The result accomplished by the infinite amount of labor 
which we comprise under the general term 'produc- 
tion' does not fulfil its purpose by satisfying the need 
of the individual buyer, and cannot escape the higher 
object of serving the interest of the consuming world — 
the whole people, all mankind. And while production 
uses its powers for consumption, consumption returns 
the sustenance which enables an extension of its capacity. 
Producing and consuming, raising and using, are the 
two mutually dependent functions of society which 
maintain the life, growth, and prosperity of its wonder- 
ful organization. Their reciprocal action causes injury 
to one necessarily to injure the other, disturbances in one 
necessarily to cause disturbances in the other, which, re- 
acting, again paralyze the former and check the develop- 
ment of the entire structure. This gradually extending 
perception made all efforts to establish a protective tariff 
seem to be an error, and during the obstinate conflict 
with petty interests, and the narrowness which is the 
inevitable attribute of all prejudice, a victorious passage 
was forced by the idea of free-trade, which promised to 
lead to the increasing welfare of mankind and to peace 
among the nations. A few countries had attained com- 
plete free-trade, but with the exception of Russia and 
the United States, all were striving to abolish the pro- 
tective system. 

" These are my introductory remarks concerning the 
conflict, from which, by the light -diffusing labor of 
science, free -trade arose from the protective system, 
as modem civilization came from the Middle Ages. 
But, gentlemen, the sole point of interest to modem in- 
vestigation, and probably to the honored members of this 
society, is the relapse which, from the year 1878, seized 
upon all civilized nations with the single exception of 



218 MB, ^BED^BIOK EAST^S EXPEBIENO£d 

England. Just in a period of extraordinary progress, 
when magnificent discoveries and gigantic industrial 
achievements lent international traffic a vigor previously 
undreamed of, when a larger number of goods than ever 
were striving to obtain a market, and the increase of 
production was beginning to make life easier, even in 
the lowest classes of society, that abortion of the Middle 
Ages suddenly gained a victory, and, as in the days of 
the mercantile system, custom-houses were established 
on all the frontiers as an aid to traffic, a protection to 
the laboring people. The commencement V^as in our 
own Germany. Were they really an aid ? Have they 
aided production, increased wealth, or rendered the lives 
of men happier ? 

" Nowhere has scientific investigation probably had to 
contend with greater difficulties than in the department 
of political economy. It cannot keep the object it is 
examining before the eye on a dissecting-table, cannot 
measure, weigh, nor compare it. Currents of all kinds 
which obstruct regularity of motion, and a confusion of 
minor phenomena whose influence on the whole cannot 
be computed, prevent the investigator from tracing 
the influence of the factors in all their changes. He is 
really referred to the path of deduction, but however 
keenly he pursues it, the cases are rare in which he has 
any proof to offer to the doubter, the opponent. Con- 
fronting such difficulties, we may consider ourselves fort- 
unate in being assigned to a department of research 
whose simplicity of movement permits us to arrive, with 
unequivocal clearness, at a conclusion concerning the 
results which ensue when Governments, either by pro- 
tective duties or bonuses, interfere with the freq move- 
ment of trade. 

" To follow the thread of investigation undisturbed 



fat MK. BfeLLAMY^S WORLD. 219 

by vague influences through all its windings the famous 
Thunen formerly constructed his Isolated State. We, 
'however, need no such creation of the imagination for 
our examination. We have, in reality, the structure by 
which investigator, as well as layman, can in the sim- 
plest manner keep the object of examination before the 
eyes. This structure is our socialist^ State. 

" This socialistic State, in its organic functions, is a 
model of simplicity. There is no multiplicity of parts 
whose interests are apparently conflicting, no commission 
business coming between producer and consumer, no 
implements of trade in money whose currents conceal 
the movements of goods. The Government itself has 
the whole business of production in its own hands. Its 
duty is to produce a sufficient quantity of everything 
to supply the purchasing power of the inhabitants, and 
the multitude of wants it can satisfy affords a just cri- 
terion of its performance. 

"This socialistic State solves the question of the 
basis on which the wealth of nations rests. It gives us 
a sure standard by which we can estimate the prosperity 
of the nations. We do not ask the amount of money 
which is in circulation or in the banks, the quantity of 
interest-bearing notes, the fertility of the soil, nor the 
metallic treasures. Our standard ia the degree of en- 
joyment which the total production of the population 
procures, and if we wish to decide which of the so- 
cialistic States is the richest, we compare the pleasures 
which the inhabitants receive from the production of 
the State. 

" Let us now imagine, gentlemen, that a fine of five 
hundred million marks has been imposed by the inter- 
national syndicate upon the Government of our State. 
It can raise the sum only by the products which it has 



S^O MR. :i^BEDEBldK EAST^S liXPEBfENOEd 

manufactured for the enjoyment of its inhabitants. 
Payment cannot be made except by limiting the pleas- 
ures of the whole population, and in order, during this 
restriction of pleasures, to put no constraint upon indi- 
vidual tastes, it, is decided to raise the desired sum by 
taxes. Two ways present themselves: the direct and 
the indirect tax ; and the indirect tax has also a choice 
of two methods : it can be raised by revenue taxes or 
protective duties. 

" Let us now investigate what consequences would re- 
sult to the inhabitants as consumers, and to the State as 
producer, according to the B/doption of one or the other 
of these three ways. 

^'Direct taxation is simple and easy. The Govern- 
ment commands each of its round fifty million receivers 
of credit cards to pay ten marks. The result of this is 
that the income of every individual is reduced from 
fifteen hundred to fourteen hundred and ninety marks, 
and the Government has a quantity of productions 
amounting to fifty million times ten marks — that is, to 
five hundred million, with which it can pay the fine 
imposed. One person has restricted himself in the use 
of this article, another in that, but there has been no 
other effect upon the consumption or the production of 
societv. 

"It would be somewhat less simple and less easy to 
raise the amount by revenue taxes — that is, by duties 
levied when the goods are placed in the market, but 
which impose no sacrifice upon the consumer other than 
the tax. It can only be levied upon goods which come 
from foreign countries and are not manufactured at 
home, or on goods produced at home, when the whole 
amount made is affected by it as soon as it passes from 
production to consumption. The latter is done^ for in- 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 221 

stance, by a tax on the consumption of sugar, when a 
tax is laid upon all the sugar produced as soon as it 
reaches the consumer's hands from the factory. Let us 
suppose that the Government wanted to raise the five 
hundred million marks by taxing coffee, tea, rice, and 
sugar ; it would increase the original price of these goods 
so much that the sale of the quantity which is generally 
used by the people would yield the five hundred mill- 
ions. The consequence now would be that each person 
would be forced to restrict his use of other products in 
proportion to the additional sum he was obliged to pay 
for coffee, tea, rice, and sugar. The Government, as in 
the case of direct taxation, would have at its disposal, in 
the goods unused, the five hundred millions to be paid. 
The public would lose precisely the same amount as by 
direct taxation, and the only visible difference would be 
that those who used more of the taxed articles than 
others would be more burdened than they. 

"We now come to the third case, raising the five hun- 
dred millions \>j protective duties — that is, by duties 
on goods which come from foreign countries and are 
also produced at home, but which are imposed on the 
foreign goods only. The Government determines to 
levy on all these things, grain, cattle, meal, butter, articles 
of clothing, everything which is important for the main- 
tenance of life — a tax which, according to the quan- 
tity of goods imported, will produce the sum desired. 
By this tax, also, it will obtain possession of the five 
hundred millions, but the result will be different. In 
the disposal of its products it cannot fix a higher price 
upon the imported goods — to whose original cost the 
tax must now be added — than upon its own productions. 
It cannot exact from the inhabitants who buy, against 
their will, a loaf made from Bussian wheat, a bit of 



222 MB. FBEDESICK EAST's EXFEBIENOES 

meat from a Hungarian ox, or a garment of English 
buckskin, higher prices than are obtained for similar 
wares made of German material. So it is compelled to 
raise the prices of home products also, unless it is will- 
ing to give up the plan of raising the five hundred mill- 
ion marks by an advance in prices. 

" What will now result ? AH the inhabitants will buy 
what they need at increased rates, and exhaust their 
credit cards long before the goods produced have been 
exhausted. That is, the consumption by the people would 
be restricted to a far greater degree than the amount of 
the tax required, and consequently there would be no 
sale for a large part of their work. That is, according to 
the standard we have previously established, the wealth 
of the nation would have lessened, or, in other words, the 
people would have grown poorer, 

" Now, gentlemen, with the measures we have sug- 
gested, would there be any different result in our so- 
cialistic State than that which occurred in the former 
society, in consequence of the various systems of taxa-v 
tion? In one respect, undoubtedly, we must note a 
variation. The former Governments expended the sums 
raised as taxes, and they flowed back to the people, the 
consumers. So we must make a slight correction in 
order to have the objects of comparison harmonize. We 
can easily do this by supposing that the international 
syndicate, meanwhile, had not considered the fine im- 
posed justified, and had restored the goods — amounting 
in value to five hundred million marks — which had been 
delivered. There would then be agreement on this point. 
The Government would desire to have the goods used 
as a tax restored to the consumers. What would be the 
result in the three cases ? In all three the Government 
would add the ten marks to the amount of the credit 



IN MB, BEIJ.AMY^S WOBLD. 223 

cards, but in each one this addition would have a differ- 
ent effect. For the direct tax, each one would have re- 
ceived what he paid. In the revenue tax, those who had 
used more of the taxed goods would ^sustain losses, while 
those who had consumed less would reap a profit. In 
the system of protective duties not only this loss would 
follow, but so far as the duties increased the cost of the 
home-made goods, the people would suffer from the last- 
ing injury of being restricted in the number of its 
pleasures — ^that is. in its prosperity. 

" You will answer that in the former state of society 
the latter injury would not have been inflicted because, 
by the increase of prices, a profit would have flowed in to 
the producers of the goods, which they would have ex- 
pended, thus restoring it to trade. But this objection 
would be only partly, not fully established. For apart 
from the inequality of distribution — which was not to be 
avoided with the irregularity of consumption, in so far as 
what was taken from the great majority was given to a few 
speculators — the greater portion of what the mass of con- 
sumers and some few speculators obtained remained for 
a long time, or permanently, withdrawn from the traflSc 
of the nation. It fell partly into the hands of very rich 
people, who did not spend it for useful articles, but 
invested it in home or foreign stocks. Thus it was 
transformed into capital, which in time would probably 
promote the prosperity of the people, but meanwhile 
was withdrawn from trade, and if it went to foreign 
countries did not even benefit the native land in its 
quality of capital. The best characterization of this re- 
sult is probably to say that an artificial formation of 
capital took the place of the natural one. Circulation 
was lessened to obtain more capital, and this occasioned 
a disturbance in the course of trade. Instead of leav- 



224 MS. FBEDEBIGK EAST's EXPEBIENGES 

ing trade to form amounts of capital in proportion to 
its growth, capital was created in amounts which did 
not harmonize with the diminished prosperity of the 
population. This capital, thus artificially increased in 
the pursuit of gain, could only come into competition 
with itself, and thereby cause an amount of production 
which the purchasing power of the nation could not 
equal. This caused an unhealthy fluctuation of prices, 
from which nothing suffered more than capital and pro- 
duction. We can, by our example, plainly see this effect 
of our system of protective duties. The surplus of use- 
ful articles caused by the decrease of consumption be- 
came, in the hands of the Government, the producer, 
additional capital, which forced it to throw on the mar- 
ket increased quantities of goods, for which it could find 
a sale only at prices which, spite of the intended in- 
crease of value by the protective duties, were not in har- 
mony with the cost of production. 

" Apart from these objections which I have adduced, 
our examples show only the same effects which, under the 
natural mode of traffic, appeared in the former system of 
society in consequence of the different modes of taxation. 
The fact that in those days money effected the transfer 
of goods made no change in the result, for the object 
of production was the same as in our socialistic State, 
namely, to produce pleasures for the human race. Nor 
did the fact that production was in the hands of many, 
rather than of one, have any influence upon the final 
result. At that time the sole aim of production was to 
satisfy the purchasing power of the whole population, 
and the injurious effect on consumption could affect the 
numerous producers of the past in no other way than it 
does the single one of our socialistic Government. 

"So you see, gentlemen, that among the systems of 



IN MR. Bellamy's world. 225 

taxation of the past, the protective one was the most 
absurd. It caused discord between production and con- 
sumption. It will also be tjlear to you why that 
wretched mercantile system, which estimated a nation's 
wealth by the amount of money, was an emanation of 
mediseval folly. Men did not understand the objects of 
human industry, did not understand the reciprocal ac- 
tion which production and consumption naturally have 
upon each other. People did not perceive that man, in 
his work, belongs to the whole human race, not to his 
church, his province, and his native land ; that each indi- 
vidual has better conditions for a prosperous develop- 
ment of his working power in proportion to the greater 
prosperity of all humanity; that every barrier of cus- 
toms by which, with petty jealousy, one nation sought 
to injure fellow nations, must necessarily impose a bar- 
rier to the prosperity of its own population. 

" Why did the German Government in 1878 again 
restore the old, worn-out mediaeval system ? Probably 
because the United States and Russia had been caught 
by it. But in America, a free nation, ignorant of the 
nature of trade, and not understanding its own inter- 
est, voluntarily, as the saying goes, allowed itself to be 
fleeced by the millionaires, and in Russia the change was 
made arbitrar ily without any cpusent given, by thej)eQ- 
^le. Our statesmen of those days could not possibly 
have held the opinion that the voluntarily endured pil- 
laging of the people by American millionaires, and the 
contempt of justice helplessly endured in the Bussian 
empire, were to be recommended as model government 
arrangements. 

" Or was it considered necessary to stimulate the peo- 
ple's work by protective duties? Oh, gentlemen, where 
could I find any era in history in which this would have 

15 



226 MB. FBEDERIGK EAST^S EXPEBIENCES 

been less requisite. In Germany, as well as elsewhere, 
the most magnificent levers of industry had been set in 
motion. The whole system of production was in a con- 
dition of feverish activity. Immense amounts of capi- 
tal were in the market seeking investment ; inventions 
of every description, improved machines, perfection of 
all implements of labor, a vast ocean commerce, rail- 
roads, and telegraphs in every land, whatever can f acili- 
tate work was toiling with the utmost zeal. Produc- 
tion was in danger of outstripping the wants of men, 
and needed the curb rather than the spur. Never had 
the world beheld such quantities of goods, and a natural, 
healthful fall in prices had begun to pour a rich measure 
of enjoyment upon the human race. 

" What, then, can have been the cause of the relapse 
which, according to scientific judgment, renders that 
period so peculiar? History has no satisfactory ex- 
planation for it. The secret reasons of the great states- 
man who at that day directed with such iron vigor and 
such remarkable skill the government of the newly-estab- 
lished German empire, are not discernible. It was said 
that languishing agriculture and languishing manufact- 
ures must be helped. But in what did the languish- 
ing consist ? Under the influence of over-production 
the prices of everything had fallen, and the fall in prices 
had lessened the gains of the speculators. The belief 
seemed to prevail that the yield of the soil would les- 
sen, manufactures and production diminish, if the specu- 
lators did not receive a large profit from their capital, 
and in order to obtain this for them an effort was made 
to raise the price of products by taxes. There was an at- 
tempt to force the public to pay more money for bread 
and meat, clothing, and implements of labor, in order to 
put this money into the pockets of the speculators. 



IN MR. Bellamy's wobld. 227 

" Was this purpose attained ? Were the speculators 
helped ? Sometimes, not always. Some, not all. We 
have seen by our examples that the policy of protective 
duties caused an over-supply of goods, and it is perfect- 
ly apparent that consumption cannot be increased if 
the articles which the nation consumes are made dearer. 
Therefore, it was perfectly natural that protective duties 
could at first only injure, not benefit, producers who 
were active as speculators. Prices fell still lower, and 
it was a fact based on the existing state of affairs that 
the decade succeeding the restoration of the policy of 
protective duties was a decade of the loudest com- 
plaints. Not until after bad crops began to reduce the 
quantities of bread and meat, and a comparative limita- 
tion of activity had taken place in many branches of 
production, did a rise of prices begin, which again favored 
speculators. The general blow dealt to the production 
of the nation by the policy of protective duties of course 
did not prevent individual branches of industry and 
individual capitalists from reaping considerable advan- 
tages from the protection given to them. But the more 
unprejudiced view with which we, from the higher stand- 
point of a later period, survey these currents of the past, 
does not lead us to regard the business policy of those 
days in a light any more favorable than the mediseval 
mercantile system. But it was much less pardonable, 
because it affected a flourishing civilization far more 
than the latter did the less developed commerce of a 
period which was still struggling with the beginning of 
civilized life. 

"Its worst effects, however, were on the moral world. 
It is always bad for nations when governments them- 
selves hurl the firebrand of interests among the masses. 
Passions are roused which threaten to destroy all higher 



228 MB. FBEDBBICK EAST S EXPEEIENCES 

impulses and to divide the classes of the people into the 
most repulsive contrasts. Who would not be overcome 
by a feeling of intense sorrow while studying the his- 
tory of those years ? The Germans had just obtained a 
united country. What they had so long sought and de- 
sired, though owing to the selfishness of the German 
princes it seemed impossible, had at last become reality, 
and all races looked with enthusiasm and confidence 
to the Hohenzollern^ w^se crown appeared to them 
the symbol of power andTji ifitice. Then the policy of 
protective duties destroyed this noble flame. Race ha- 
tred and religious hatred blazed forth with class hatred, 
and the country so recently united became the arena of 
the basest party passions. Capitalists gathered around 
the Government, by whose protective duties they ex- 
pected to gain treasures without toil, and the poor felt 
repulsed by a policy which seemed to them an interfer- 
ence with their possessions. Whether the protective 
duties could promote the interests of the speculator at 
the expense of the consumer in the manner intended, 
whether they must not rather conjure up another evil, 
was a question which, owing to the conflicts of interests, 
could not receive proper consideration. Where financial 
interests are at stake the brains of men are clouded by 
vague forebodings, which shut out calm judgment and 
moral emotions. Had the capitalists of those days, the 
great land-owners and the great manufacturers, clearly 
perceived how completely their own interests were iden- 
tified with those of their consumers, and how little 
justice the policy of protective duties could do to 
the interests of both, they would scarcely have been 
so foolish as to permit, with calm indifference, the 
growth of a hatred which was not only directed against 
them but was undermining the authority of society. 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 229 

the authority of the State, and the authority of the 
throne. 

" Well, gentlemen, we are tasting the fruits of that 
hatred. We are on the eve of a catastrophe which 
threatens to ingulf civilization, prosperity, and our- 
selves with them. The policy of protective duties has 
been the nurse who suckled the infant social democracy 
and aided its sturdy growth. 

" If the Government believed itself entitled to favor 
the rich at the expense of the poor, the natural conse- 
quence was that the poor claimed the right to take from 
the rich enough to secure for themselves a comforta- 
ble support. Sensible people can find no satisfaction 
in things contradictory to reason, and I shall certainly 
meet with no contradiction from you if I term social- 
ism a monster of folly. It was foolish to make the State 
the manager of production, foolish to rob the individual 
of the power of acquiring property, but most foolish of 
all to denx jnoa-^he possession of capi tal^ for this lack 
of capital will prove the obstacle which will prevent our 
obtaining the necessary food for our people during the 
commercial crisis now impending. 

"Small causes have often produced great results. lit- 
tle heed was paid to awakening the covetousness of the 
rich, but this trivial evil, which probably seemed useful 
to some political interest, fostered the ugly passion till 
the evil could no longer be conquered. It has always 
been the misfortune of nations when Governments saw 
the truth too late." 

After Professor Bergfall had finished his address, to 
which the assembly listened with the closest attention, 
the president rose to thank him in the name of the 
society, and at the same time invited the members to 
discuss what they had heard. At first no one seemed 



230 MB. FREDERICK EAST's EXPERIENOES 

disposed to make any reply, but after a long pause Pro- 
fessor Hergenroth, who, as a zealous student of political 
history, might not consider his colleague's views of po- 
litical economy decisive, requested permission to say a 
few words. 

Professor Hergenroth, "I believe, gentlemen, that we 
must all agree with the last portion of Professor Berg- 
fall's address. For myself, I have never considered so- 
cialism a blessing. Nor have I any theoretical objec- 
tions to make to my valued colleague's explanation of 
the various systems of collecting duties. 
> " But I think in politics we must make a distinction 
between theory and practice. A thing may be theoret- 
ically wrong, but of the utmost value in practice. I 
believe that, in the situation of affairs then existing, the 
protective policy adopted can have been only advan- 
tageous to our country. It kept foreign wares from our 
frontiers, thereby relieving our own productions from 
dangerous competition, while the home manufactures 
could go abroad unrestricted. It may have been in- 
jurious to the people by raising the price of provisions, 
but as it cut off the competition of foreign countries, it 
secured to us the opportunity of finding a sale for our 
manufactured products, and in this way the whole na- 
tion reaped a profit far in excess of the injury infiicted 
by the increased cost of food." 

Scarcely had Professor Hergenroth sat down when 
Herr Biichner sprang from his seat with youthful elas- 
ticity, and, in evident excitement, requested a hearing. 

Herr Biichner. "The gentleman who has just spo- 
ken appears to have restricted himself too much in his 
studies of the history of our native land. Hence he 
has failed to perceive the most important point in the 
business relations of those days. What Germany did 



IN MR. BELLAMY^S WOBLD. ' ' 231 

to other countries was honestly returned, and the Ger- 
man goods which strove to secnre buyers in foreign lands 
found the same barriers of custom-house duties which 
Germany had so amiably erected against those lands. 
If the gentleman will have the kindness to study in 
statistics the movement of trade of those days, he will 
arrive at the totally opposite conclusion that the ready 
sale of products he praises by no means occurred. Sta- 
tistics rather #how stagnation* in the export of manu- 
factured products which, with the increased aids of cap- 
ital and machinery, could not have taken place, had not 
the policy of protective duties rendered it impossible 
for Mother Nature to apply her quickly acting remedy." 
Ba/iiker Stillfried. "I should like to confirm, by a 
few brief remarks, what Herr Blichner has just stated. 
The disproportion between production and consumption 
in those days was actually so great that the producers 
often found themselves forced to form unions, by whose 
means they pledged themselves either to a certain limi- 
tation of their production, or to the maintenance bf a 
fixed price for the sale of their goods ; and the latter 
plan is nearly equivalent to a limitation of production. 
One of the strangest consequences of this cartel was the 
effort to keep the price of goods sold at home so high 
that it would cover the loss of selling abroad at re- 

* It is not necessary to live in the year 2000 to perceive the stagnation 
in the sale of our manufactured products after the introduction of the 
system of protective duties mentioned by Herr Biichner. It was plainly 
visible in the latter part of the eighth decade of the nineteenth century. If 
we compare the whole amount of the manufactured goods exported from 
Germany during the latter half of this decade with the exportation during 
the first half, it will show only an increase by no means in proportion 
to the increase of population during this period. This is a crushing 
argument against the far-famed benefit of the system of protective 
duties.— D. H. 



232 MB. FBEDEBIOK EASt's EXPESIENGES 

duced rates those which, owing to the increased produc- 
tion, could not be disposed of. This unpatriotic course 
would have been possible only under the protection of 
the high tariii, and shows in the strongest light the 
folly of the policy of protective duties. In this respect 
also it will be very useful to us to try to understand 
clearly, from Professor Bergfall's examples, the impor- 
tance of this matter to the socialistic State. 

" If, for instance, our Government has placed a par- 
ticularly high price on iron, all who are compelled to 
use articles of which iron forms a part would be forced 
to restrict other wants in proportion to the additional 
cost of the former. The Government would thus retain 
unsold a quantity of manufactured products, and the 
labor expended on them would have been wasted. If 
it had also sold the iron produced for export below the 
cost of manufacture, a part of the working strength 
would thereby have remained unused which, if devoted 
to other purposes, might have been of service to societyv 
So we have here an arrangement of business which leads 
to a twofold waste of labor, and a system of duties 
which gives occasion for such practices cannot possibly 
cause the enrichment of the people." 

CoundUor Weinbomer. " Professor Bergf all has termed 
socialism a folly, and probably we shall all agree that 
the appellation is a very happy one. We might try 
to apply it also to the system of protective duties, but 
I fear that would let the protectionists oflE too easily. 
A fool may be honest and good-natured, wish for the 
best, and avoid injuring his fellow -men. The social 
democrats, it is true, have not been over-friendly to the 
rich, but they have not desired their penury ; they have 
merely sought the acquisition of part of their surplus, 
leaving them, like everybody else, an endurable life. 



IN ME. Bellamy's world. 233 

But what the protectionists desired to secure of their 
neighbors' possessions must be principally taken from 
the very persons who had no surplus, and must therefore 
lose what was requisite for their most urgent needs. It 
seems to me that the moral qualities of the protection- 
ists are specially obvious in such a comparison." 

Herr Bromfeld^ eoo-Agricultv/rist. " It seems to me 
that Professor Bergfall has said a great deal about man- 
ufactures, but very little concerning languishing agri- 
culture. The needy farmers of those times, however, 
found it very useful to receive for their grain a price 
higher by the amount of the duty than that of foreign 
countries." 

Herr Buchner, " I desire to say, on the contrary, that 
the protective duty scarcely yielded more profit to the 
needy farmer than the collection and sale of cigar ends 
affords to orphan children. 

" The prosperity of agriculture depends wholly upon 
the prosperity of industry, which gives mankind occu- 
pation and means to purchase, and it could sustain noth- 
ing but injury from a system of duties which, as to-day 
has clearly shown, must check the progress of manu- 
factures." 

President " No one else has any remarks to make ? 
So I have merely to recapitulate briefly what we have 
gained as the result of our present meeting. The policy 
of protective duties, again adopted in the year 1878, was 
a superannuated system, contradictory to the lessons of 
science, and in no respect adapted to an epoch which is 
under the rule of reason. Its effect has been to deprive 
production and consumption of the energy they need, 
promote the unhealthf ul formation of capital, thus caus- 
ing an unhealthf ul spirit of speculation in the province 
of production, and thereby obstructing the desirable de- 



234 MB. FBEDEBICK EAST^S EXPERIENCES 

velopment of manufacturing. It could not, therefore, 
be beneficial to agriculture, and prevented the wealth of 
the nation from proving profitable to the lower classes 
of the people. I hereby close the meeting, hoping that 
there will be an equally numerous attendance at the next 
session." 



\ 



IN MK. Bellamy's wobld. 235 



CHAPTER XL 
THE END OF SOCIETY. 

While we were preparing for depatture after the close 
of the meeting, several young oflScials were introduced 
to me, and chance ordained that, after the interchange of 
the first few civilities, I was invited to make the round 
of several places of amusement. I had never been averse 
to such " rounds," because I have always enjoyed seeing 
a gay throng of people. This evening I had the least 
possible reason for refusing, because I actually dreaded 
tl^e solitude of my room ; so I accepted the proposal with 
many thanks. 

We visited a number of places of amusement : beer- 
shops, dancing-halls, and similar places ; but this time I 
did not have the usual gratification of quiet enjoyment. 
The present amusement, grief for my lost friend, the 
bad news of the evening, and the interesting debate of 
the Philomathic Society, weighed heavily on my heart 
and brain. 

Bergfall's address did not burden my heart least. It 
aroused the memory of the saddest time in my life. 
How wonderfully happy I had felt when the German 
empire, rising from the battle-fields of France, began 
to build a beautiful and noble structure on the basis of 
a free legislation! How our nation seemed to have 
suddenly escaped from all that was petty and hateful, 
while a loftier spirit appeared to animate the breast of 
even the humblest citizen. Then, when the revulsion 



236 MB. FBEDEBIOK EASx's EXFEBIENOES 

occurred so abruptly, how deep was the pang ! Those 
were the most sorrowful years of my life. Had Ger- 
mania really remained the symbol of nobility and beauty? 
Had not all striven to drag her into the service of ma- 
terial interests ? 

This was the bitter question which then bowed me 
to the earth, and which now again assailed me ! How 
the conflict of interests was kindled, class hatred awak- 
ened, and party passion roused! Ail these memories 
stirred within me. I now found myself in the midst 
of careless mirth, but my soul was oppressed, and my 
heart ached with the knowledge that the end of all hap- 
piness was so near. 

Aye, people danced and jested, caroused and rejoiced, 
sang and laughed. Why should they not? The Gov- 
ernment had relieved them of all anxieties, and if others 
were to think and ponder, strive and calculate, why 
should they not look forward carelessly to the morrow ? 
People consider it to be their right not to have their 
cheerfulness shadowed by sorrows and distress. Among 
all the horrible things which we have been told con- 
cerning the French Revolution, nothing made so indeli- 
ble an impression upon me as the fact that, in the Days 
of the Terror, when the hapless king's head fell, and 
streams of human blood flowed from the guillotine, gay 
Paris sought amusement every evening in twenty-three 
theatres, and enjoyed dancing in sixty public halls. 
Why should not the people laugh and dance and jest 
now, when no guillotine beheaded, and no bloody tri- 
bunal sought innocent victims ? 

But in the socialistic State, too. Fate moves quickly, 
and Care, with gloomy mien, approaches even the most 
light-hearted. I had frequent opportunities of talking 
with Herr Biichner^ and as he was well - informed, 



IN MB. Bellamy's world. 237 

through his relations with the Government, I always 
had the latest news. 

The Government had not lost its head, but developed 
the utmost energy in the hour of need. Telegrams 
were despatched continually in every direction, and 
within a few days it received accurate information of 
the amount of provisions in store. Active intercourse 
was also maintained vnth foreign countries. Every ef- 
fort was made to dispose of all goods which were saleable, 
and to get grain and meat in exchange. But spite of 
the utmost exertion, too much working-power had been 
used in the production of articles for which, hitherto, 
there had been an active demand in Central Asia, and 
these were needed nowhere else. Harvest time was still 
far distant, and no matter how industriously estimates 
were made, a blank space remained to represent several 
months' consumption. 

Two plans now came up for consideration. Should 
they manage to live until the harvest by reducing the 
allowance of food to half rations, leaving the rest to the 
future, or should the stock now on hand be consumed 
and the struggle for life then be abandoned ? 

The latter course was deemed base and cowardly. Lit- 
tle hope as there might be, the more so because all dense- 
ly populated countries were in the same precarious sit- 
uation, duty required the helm to be held until the last 
moment, because the longer the ground was held the 
more chances for the possibility of escape would pre- 
sent themselves. The only fear was that it would be ex- 
tremely difScult to make the people content to accept a 
half-ration of bread, if at the same time the supply of 
meat was also reduced one-half, and a second fear was 
that the diminished allowance of meat and bread would 
cause an increased consumption of potatoes. 



238 ME. FBEDEEICK EAST'S EXPERIENCES 

The best way of meeting the former difficulty was be- 
lieved to be to issue bread at least a week old, and, in order 
to avoid the second, it was determined to permit only a 
certain proportion of potatoes per person to be issued to 
all the eating-houses, as well as to individual purchasers. 
The necessity for asking the same price for the reduced 
rations which had formerly been fixed for the whole 
ones could not come under discussion. No doubt was 
possible that, with the increased competition of the 
manufacturing countries, the purchase of provisions, as 
well as of raw materials, could be made only by giving 
away larger quantities of manufactured articles, so in 
this respect also a certain abstemiousness on the part 
of the people must be enjoined. A few days later 
the nation was surprised by the following Government 
edict: 

To the Citizens of Socialistic Germany : 

Fellow Citizens, — A sorrowful fate has overtaken 
our nation. The wars which have broken out in our most 
important market have destroyed the sale of most of 
the products your industry and your labor have manu- 
factured for the purchase of our food. There is danger 
that the stock of provisions will not last until the begin- 
ning of the approaching harvest unless, by wise and time- 
ly restriction, the most dangerous evil is checked. We 
therefore issue the following orders: 

1. Bread and pastry of all kinds will not be delivered 
until it is a week old. 

2. To each individual of both sexes fixed rations of 
bread and meat, amounting to one -half the quantity 
hitherto consumed, will be daily delivered. The price 
of the rations will be posted in the shops. 

3. Potatoes and other varieties of food will be fur- 



m MR. Bellamy's world. 239 

nished to restaurants, and also for domestic purposes, in 
fixed quantities only. 

4. This order goes into effect on January 24th. 

We lament with you the grievous visitation which 
Providence has inflicted upon our people, and expect 
that you will endure this severe trial with patience and 
submission. Eemember the old maxim : '^ Calmness is 
the first duty of the citizen." 

The Imperial Government. 

There was not a human being who found this a pleas- 
ant surprise, and the angry emotions roused by the edict 
did not diminish when, on the third day, the reduced 
portions and stale bread were delivered. The prevail- 
ing mood did not become more cheerful or life more 
peaceful, and the harshest comments were passed upon 
the Government. The Press, however, did its duty in 
this hour of need. The Government could not be 
blamed for the misfortune, it said ; the fault rested en- 
tirely with the socialization of society. Had the capital 
of society remained in private hands, there would have 
been a simple way of escape. The capitalists would 
have changed their stocks and bonds into gold, and, in 
the hope of a profit, ordered from abroad the food we 
must now lack. But a society, which has allowed the 
State to absorb all property, must take into the bargain 
the unpleasant fact that all its rich possessions have lost 
their value by being made over to the State, and in the 
midst of infinite treasures it is still too poor to help 
itself out of a sore strait. 

The justice of this deduction was not instantly per- 
ceived, but time proved its wisdom. The first idea was 
that the Government should sell only lands or railroads, 
and, as during the French Revolution, procure countless 



240 MR. FREDERICK EASt's EXPERIENCES 

milKons by the issue of asdgnats. But the impossibility 
of this proposal was easily demonstrated. There was a 
lack of buyers who could pay for lands and railroads, 
and without payment the sale would have been useless. 
It was a singular experience : what had been doubtful 
for thousands of years ; what remarkable intellects had 
debated with a display of brilliant dialectics ; what the 
masses seemed to find so difficult to understand, the re- 
bellious stomach at last solved. Ownership of property 
is no harmful arrangement, no device of the human in- 
tellect, no injury to society ; it is a decree of Mother 
Nature, a fundamental necessity of civilization, a neces- 
sity essential to the existence of the human race. To 
abolish property is to abolish a work of Nature, and 
whoever disturbs this good mother in her salutary work 
she pijnishes inexorably with a heavy hand. This was 
the truth which the empty stomach had made plain, 
and which was now no longer doubted by the socialistic 
world. 

Had not the situation been so unusually lamentable, I 
should have believed that I found myself in a most im- 
portant historical epoch. Since the children of Eve 
fii-st began to think, no more difficult problem has ever 
been brought to an absolute solution ; this was the first ^ 
moment in thousands of years that an important truth 
found no doubters. It seemed to be decided beyond 
question that Bebel had been no true prophet, and Marx 
and Lassalle had racked their brilliant brains over a 
foolish inquiry. People no longer pondered over their 
theories ; their hungry stomachs were a better authority 
for them. 

While men were bewailing their situation and the- 
oretically solving the social question, the Government 
was striving with all its poNver^ \iO ^n^x\. \Jcia ^QY«.t mis- 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 241 

fortnne. Numerous consultations were held, and every 
conceivable expedient was devised. But their task was 
impossible; the most important portions of the social 
body were weakened by socialization, and it could not 
succeed in bringing the impaired organism to an effective 
exercise of strength. The levelling of wants had created 
a perfectly untenable position. Many densely peopled 
countries, if they have proportionate prosperity, find in 
this very density a powerful lever for maintaining and 
increasing this prosperity, and densely peopled countries 
which are in close juxtaposition, can all in a similar 
manner serve to strengthen the vital energy. But, to 
accomplish this, it is an imavoidable condition that there 
must be opportunity for abundant employment, and that 
products can be exchanged among their own people, as 
well as with other nations. 

To attain all this it is requisite that tastes and in- 
clinations should have the widest range, and that talent 
and skill should be afforded unlimited scope. In the 
former social system this condition existed, and because 
tastes and inclinations were adapted to talents and skill, 
its permanent growth was possible without danger to its 
existence. Now the equalization of incomes had con- 
fined tastes and inclinations to much narrower limits, 
thereby restricting the activity of many acquired talents 
and natural abilities, but abolishing many kinds of work. 
How could any other result ensue than that of making 
it more difficult for these numerous nations to obtain, 
by the sale of their products, the means to purchase 
food? 

So long as a newly -developing civilization in a for- 
eign quarter of the world opened to them a new market 
this peril was not great ; but as soon as wars checked 
the growth of this civilizalioii, \)cka dL^Xk^^^t ^^ ^<3^s^ 

16 



\ 



242 MB. FBBDBBIOK EAST'S EZPESIENOES 

strengthened. When a larger number of densely peo- 
pled countries, with a greatly restricted number of prod- 
ucts and a diminished demand, are seeking to force sales 
in order to obtain food, their products must undergo a 
shrinkage of value, and the sole result can be that the 
means of sustaining life must be obtained by increased 
sales. And this was the very worst part of the matter. 
Industrial products fell in value, and the same amount 
would purchase only a greatly diminished quantity of 
food. 

The same evil appeared in another direction. The raw 
material required by industry was just as valuable as the 
food to be purchased, and must also be bought with the 
products of the people. That is, only a smaller quantity 
of these wares could be obtained for the amoimt of man- 
ufactured articles sold. 

Thus, as has happened in all business crises, a number 
of currents meet to lend their destroying power to the 
flood. A newly-opened market which had become nec- 
essary because, owing to the levelling of wants, the agri- 
cultural countries were able to make for themselves a 
large number of the articles whose manufacture required 
less skill, was suddenly lost. This loss had hurried the 
sales of all saleable articles, and forcing the sales had 
reduced prices. These cheapened articles could pur- 
chase only a diminished quantity of food ; so, according 
to the nature of the phenomena of disease, the serious 
evil of a loss of trade was increased by additional reduc- 
tions of sales. That is, it was a crisis similar to those 
which have often occurred in trade, and its duration was 
dependent upon regaining the lost market for goods. 

So the Government sought and pondered. But it 
could not obtain the one thing necessary, and was left 
to perform the dismal task of restricting, saving, clip- 



IN MB. Bellamy's wobld. 243 

ping, and paring, until peace was declared in Asia, and a 
fresh impetus to business followed. How long could 
life be maintained by saving ? 

Winter passed, and smiling spring followed as usual. 
Summer's sun diffused its vivifying rays, and slowly, far 
too slowly for a starving people, the new harvest ripened. 
Scy the§ were swung, threshing machines thundered, mills 
clapped, and men once more received their daily bread. 
Had the danger passed ? Was anxiety at an end ? Was 
the haven gained? The careless masses could quietly 
enjoy life. They had no fears for the morrow ; it was 
the business of the Government to provide for the pop- 
ulation. 

But the anxieties of the Government were increased, 
not diminished. During five and a half months its wise 
economy had succeeded in preserving the lives of men, 
but the amount of food it had obtained was sufficient 
only for the one purpose of maintaining the functions 
of life in the organism, not in supporting the functions 
of the development of energy, and so for five months 
and a half the population had not been able to use its 
productive energy in laboring to procure food. . The 
harvest could last only four months — that is, the supply 
was sufficient only until November, and should the 
Government collect everything which, by the utmost 
abstemiousness on the part of the people, could be sold 
in foreign lands, it would not purchase food for more 
than two or three months longer. And what if peace 
was then declared in distant Asia, and the channels of 
trade were again opened ? By that time help would be 
too late. 

Doubtless the wares which the war had made unsale- 
able, and which were therefore now on storage, would 
supply means to purchase the food needed for three 



244 MB. FBEDEBIOK EASt's SXPEBIENOES 

months more, or to obtain the raw material requisite for 
the employment of the industrial force ; but they would 
not do hotk. 

If the Government bought the raw material, it would 
have no bread to give men to afford them the muscular 
power to manufacture it. If it bought food, it would lack 
the most important means of working for future suste- 
nance after the present supply was exhausted. 

. Under any circumstances, the doom predicted by the 
Chancellor was impending. The social world was going 
to ruin, not through the evil from which it also suffered 
of lacking human hands to work — which could only be 
the source of gradual decay — but in consequence of the 
far more deadly evil of having no work for human hands. 

Strange, startling, incomprehensible idea ! At the top- 
most height of a fairy kingdom, possessing infinite treas- 
ures, whose brilliancy surpasses all description, equipped 
with implements of marvellous power, mistress of space, 
mistress of the forces of the soil, endowed with a 
knowledge which victoriously penetrates every secret, 
with a might of intellect to which no problem seemed 
insolvable, humanity found itself hurled at one blow 
from the height of power into the abyss, into a condition 
far worse than during the most helpless days of primi- 
tive times. Boldly, audaciously, it had striven to barter 
earthly imperfection for supernatural perfection, but in 
punishment for the madness was flung back to the first 
beginnings of earthly existence. 

In truth, the folly had been gigantic ! In a world of 
varying fertility, varying elements, varying harvests, 
with a changing moon, a changing sun, changing gusts 
of rain, and changing winds, men, in their blind hatred 
of property, had believed themselves able to dispense 
with the sole aid which Mother Nature, with provident 



i 



IN MR. Bellamy's wobld. ,245 

care, had placed in the cradle of mankind. And mortals 
of such scanty understanding had fancied this under- 
standing sufficient to guide the universe in Nature's stead. 

The days passed slowly and dismally. I, too, had ex- 
perienced in my own person what tortures an unsatis- 
fied stomach can inflict, but my own sufferings seemed 
trivial when I saw so many hollow-eyed faces and 
troubled brows. 

Now, on New-year's Eve, I am sitting in my lonely 
room, thinking mournfully of the sorrows of. the world. 
What can the New Tear bring? The stores of pro- 
visions are small, and the end is drawing near. Will 
men, with indifferent eyes, permit Death to reap his har- 
vest till their number has melted sufficiently to be fed 
by the crops of the country? Will they go forth, 
sword in hand, as they did in the days of the migration 
of the nations, to establish amid fire and slaughter a new 
home on foreign soil ? Will they raise the murderous 
blade against one another, divide the land, and form do- 
mains where the lord of the soil swings the lash over 
trembling slaves ? Will — 

[Here the manuscript breaks off abruptly, and some 
interruption has apparently prevented Herr Friedrich 
Ost from completing his task. Perhaps he met his 
death in the scenes of anarchy which could not fail to 
ensue. In addition, however, I found a few loose pages, 
on which, probably obeying the impulse of the moment, 
he has written some thoughts concerning the social ques- 
tion. None of the sheets are dated, and therefore I 
cannot say whether these thoughts were committed to 
paper prior to November 25, 1890, or after October 29, 
2001. To satisfy the wish for completeness, I will add 
them to the work in an appendix. — D. H.] 



\ 



APPENDIX. 



APHORISMS ON THE SOCIAL QUESTION. 

Amid all the centuries chronicled in history, the nine- 
teenth should be regarded as most pregnant in results to 
civilization. It has brought the political condition of civil- 
ized countries to a satisfactory degree of consistency, ele- 
vated intellectual life by magnificent scientific activity, and 
secured the most marvellous enrichment of material pleasures 
by means of highly important inventions, multiplication of 
power, and a daring spirit of enterprise. Nevertheless, the 
crown of glory does not yet deck its brow. Whether it will 
receive it depends upon whether, in victorious conflict, it can 
perform the last and the most difficult of the labors of 
Hercules. / 

Social democracy is like the venomous hydra, whose heads 
always grow again as fast as they are hewn ofL It not only 
threateps what this century has created, but menaces all civ- 
ilization^the work of thousands of j^ears, all the vast treasures 
of the ntental, moral/and material Vorld. Will this century 
also endure this last of the labors, the battle with the hydra ? 
Will it win at its close, by an imperishable victory, the most 
radiant of all coronals ? 

It will not fail to conquer if it perceives the vulnerable 
spot of the foe, and uses with wise selection and sufficient 
strength the sole weapon which can strike this weak point. 
But it will sustain a shameful defeat if, in blind arrogance, it 



248 APPENDIX. 

undervalaes the fatal power of the enemy and deals impotent 
blows at the regrowing heads. 



. Socialism — ^if we correctly understand its inmost essence, 
its contradiction to the changeless laws of nature — ^is noth- 
ing save a stupendous folly of the utmost magnitude. But its 
absurdity does not lessen the impending danger and cannot 
deprive the battle of its peril. Folly cannot be destroyed 
with cannon, nor conquered by imprisoning the fools who 
preach it, for an absurd idea will always attract fresh fools 
until it is completely crushed. 

There is but one efEective weapon against folly: that is, 
sound sense mated with morality. But in order to lead rea- 
son to war against folly, society must clearly understand where 
to draw the line between them. 

Above all, it must know the battle-field it is to defend — 
namely, the social system which socialism is threatening to 
destroy. It must know how far it can fortify weak places, 
how far dangerous targets can be removed from the artillery 
of the foe. 



To correctly understand the organism of society is the 
most difficult task of the human intellect. Each individual 
human being is a member of it, and his eyes penetrate the 
body no farther than the spot where he stands permits him 
to see. And since, from his position, he perceives only por- 
tions, not the whole, he constantly incurs the risk of over- 
estimating the importance of the portion he beholds and 
underestimating the part which is invisible. 

The arm which seeks to increase its strength may think 
the goal of its wishes will be most quickly attained by devot- 
ing its attention to enlarging the sinews and muscles. If it 
understood the body of which it is a member, it would know 
that the muscles and sinews not only grow without fostering 



APPENDIX. 249 

when the whole organism receives the nourishment necessary, 
but that it can best use its power when an abundant circula- 
tion of the vital force affords all the other organs full plaj 
for their functions. 

The separate limbs of the social body, the various branches 
of industry, unless they look beyond the narrow limits of 
their business stand-point, will always be in danger of over- 
estimating the importance of what seems to promote their own 
interests, and of underestimating the advantages which will 
be derived from an equal and harmonious development of the 
whole. If they attain the power of promoting the interests 
which seem to them of the first importance, there will be only 
too much danger that, by disturbing the development of the 
whole body, they will inflict injuries whose reaction will do 
them far more damage than the fostering of their individual 
advantages served them. 



If we allow the short-sighted view taken from the stand- 
point of class to exert a decisive influence, the conflict be- 
tween the interests of capital and labor seems most apparent. 
Capital is seeking labor, without whose aid no lucrative occu- 
pation is possible, and finds its profit the larger the less 
wages it has to pay the laborers. To the laborers their work 
serves as a means of livelihood, which they behold narrowed 
by the profits of capital. 

. As the workman cannot live without occupation and wages, 
he finds himself only too frequently compelled to accept con- 
ditions which afford him but a meagre subsistence, while 
capital, on the other hand, receives a rich reward ; whereas 
capital, to which employment is not a vital necessity to the 
same degree, avoids far more easily any excessive demand on 
the part of the workman. 

But if we should attempt to deduce from this a confiict of 
interests imposed by nature, or even the existence of an iron 
law by which the workman's daily wages could not rise above 



250 APPENDIX. 

a low standard of the demands of livelihood, we should com- 
mit an error which could arise solely from that short-sighted 
view of the organic life of the social .body. 

The increase of capital in the beginning was far slower 
than that of the population, and therefore it was perfectly 
natural — in so far as that a slowly growing demand con- 
fronted a more rapidly increasing supply-that it had the 
advantage in the labor market. But it is a part of the nature 
of capital that its growth fosters growth, and therefore, with 
the increase of prosperity, the growth of capital will overtake 
the growth of the population. The more this occurs, the 
more the supply of labor falls behind the demand. With 
the demand wages rise, and with the rise in wages the work- 
er's share in the product of labor increases. 

This change in the relation between capital and labor has 
revealed itself in many ways, and would have made itself 
still more plainly felt had not disturbances of trade and 
troublesome interferences retarded its peaceful development. 
Yet it is undoubtedly one of the most conspicuous signs of 
our times, and displays itself in the claims with which the 
fourth class is striving to join the other classes on equal 
terms. 

This feature of our day is only apparently an injury — ^in 
reality it is an advantage — to capital ; for the latter is seek- 
ing a practical use for its creative power, and will find a 
sphere of action the more surely the more the purchasing 
power of the people searches for the products of production. 
The whole purchasing power, or, rather, the prosperity of the 
people, will first attain progressive growth, genuine fructifi- 
cation of capital and labor, when it begins to be difEused 
through the lower strata, where the millions are. 



That a working-class just attaining its majority should 
confront society with unwonted, and probably unreasonable, 
demands is a phenomenon very easily understood. It arises 



APPENDIX. 251 

from the low social position which had been assigned to the 
minor, and the insecure existence to which the perils of his 
occupation, the vicissitudes of circumstances, and his small 
earnings expose the laborer. No doubt it is also partly due 
to the exuberant delight with which vigorous youth, on at- 
taining majority, plunges into the battle of life. That society, 
as far as it can, strives to fulfil its demands, is a law of pru- 
dence as well as justice. There will be no social peace so long 
as the just demands of the laboring class remain unsatisfied. 

But what demands are to be recognized as just? Un- 
doubtedly all which are attainable — attainable without retard- 
ing the harmonious development of the social body ; for every 
interruption of this progress would injure the working-man 
no less than the other classes. 

If we examine the justice of the demands solely from the 
point of view of what is attainable, we shall find the boundary 
line within which the social question is to be solved, and it 
will be the task of the other classes to exert their intelligence 
to show the laborers that none of their demands will be re- 
fused, save those which would injure them no less than the 
other classes. 

If society succeeds in making the sound sense of the at- 
tainable and the folly of the unattainable clear to the labor- 
ing class, the social problem will be solved, the hydra of social 
democracy will be destroyed. The task is no easy one, for 
folly is more alluring than reason, and the favored classes, 
with all their intelligence, will not be able to accomplish the 
Herculean labor imposed upon our century unless they arm 
themselves with the moral earnestness requisite for such a 
conflict, and are thoroughly imbued with the idea that, be* 
cause it is just, what is attainable must be attained. 



What are the attainable demands of the working-classes f 
It is attainable for the laborer to be granted the utmost 
liberty in the pursuit of gain, and to be unimpeded by any 



252 APPENDIX. 

Government measures in favor of other classes which would 
render, it difficult or impossible to secure the highest wages 
that in the condition of the labor market can be obtained. 

It is attainable that not only the right of union shall be 
secured to them, but that committees of laboring men or 
similar bodies shall be formed which, by making settlements 
in disputes about wages, and by impartial explanation of the 
business situation, will be able to save the workmen from the 
strikes which are often so damaging. 

It is attainable that, so far as can be done without danger 
to the industrial branches concerned, laborers shall be af- 
forded all possible protection, that their strength may not be 
impaired by work injurious to the health or exhausting to 
their bodily vigor. 

It is attainable that no military duties shall be exacted 
from them beyond what is necessary to obtain a military 
training. 

It is attainable that public interest and capital shall strive 
to improve the dwellings of the poorer classes. 

It is attainable that all Government interference in busi- 
ness intercourse, by which the movement of prices and 
wages can be artificially influenced, shall be avoided, and that 
no taxes shall be levied which make it possible to raise 
prices for the benefit of speculators. 

It is attainable that, even in indirect taxation, the burden 
on all classes shall be equal — that is, no t%x shall be imposed 
upon necessary food. 

It is attainable that the laboring class shall be practically 
on equal terms with the other classes ; that the working-man 
shall feel at no disadvantage in Government or communal 
affairs with persons of a different rank. 

Finally, it is attainable to sweep away the old class preju- 
dices, which must always make the workman, in meeting other 
classes of society, feel as if he were a less free and respected 
member of it. 

On the other hand, every demand of the laboring class is 



APPENDIX. 253 

unattainable which seeks to restrict in its own favor the per- 
fect freedom of the movement of wages, and deprive capital 
of the unfettered use of the chances of accident and of the 
labor market 

Sach restrictions could not fail to exert a harmful influ- 
ence upon the development of the whole organism, and there- 
fore would bring nothing but injury to the laboring class 
itself. 

All demands for a rate of wages which would make the 
growth of capital impo^ible are unattainable. 

Unattainable, too, above everything else, are all demands 
which strive to set aside the arrangements of the natural 
order of society, to limit the right of property, fetter the 
free industry of the individual, and, especially, allot to the 
employment of capital a position inferior to the labor of 
human hands. 

Every such effort leads to unnatural relations, which would 
be no less dangerous to the laboring class than to society. 



But even more difficult than to diffuse a general knowledge 
of what is attainable, and what is not, is the task of re- 
moving the obstacles which arise from false notions of loss. 
Our knowledge and our perception do not yet make us free 
from our prejudices, and, among those which narrow our 
vision, there is scarcely one so powerful as the prejudice of 
the moneyed interests. If the pocket is in question, temperate 
reflection is soon over. For instance, it is very difficult to 
explain to the sugar-maker that the bonus given to him is 
merely an artificially created advantage of his customer, and 
that, so long as he receives this bonus, there can be no 
healthful relation between production and consumption. It 
is still more difficult to make the needy farmer understand 
that a preponderance of production which, by its very nature, 
is temporary, must become a permanent evil if, by levying 
taxes, an effort is made to prevent an increase of consump- 



254 APPENDIX. 

tion which will again produce a balance between production 
and use. 

Where the prejudice of interests warps the judgment of 
those concerned, the less trammelled verdict of public opinion 
must assert itself. It must oppose to all complaints and ac- 
cusations, all dogmatic claims, the clear perception that Nat- 
ure guides the social organism, and that she punishes all in- 
terferences by changing acute diseases into chronic ones. 

It must not be diverted from the fact that protective duties 
and bonuses are only another form of the disease of socialism, 
and, like the latter, foolishly disturb the harmony of inter- 
course, the growth of prosperity, and the peace of society. 

The prejudice of interests may be the hardest to conquer, 
but it is by no means the sole splinter in our brains which 
narrows our free vision of social phenomena, and can be 
removed only by the interposition of freedom of thought 

Prejudices of rank, education, religious belief and, above 
all, the one most difficult for thinkers to understand, the pre- 
judice of class, render it a Titanic task for us to reconcile 
the events of social life in their changes and windings, their 
lights and shadows, their sorrows and their joys, with the 
radiance of liberty. 

Whoever is willing to wage war against folly must know 
how to extirpate what pervades sound sense with specks of 
absurdity, and only a society which can meet the laboring 
class, untrammelled by social prejudices, will gain its confi- 
dence, remove the burdensome consciousness that between 
them runs a dividing line, a chasm, a contrast, and, spite of 
all irritation, make the working-men understand that none 
of their demands will be refused save those which cannot 
be granted without doing them an injury. 



To seek healing for social hurts is primarily the business 
of society, and the latter ought not indolently to commit it 
to the State. But the social question imposes a highly im- 



APPENDIX. 255 

portant duty upon the State also. In the conflicts of society 
it must not interfere by measures calculated to give one class 
an advantage over another or, by influencing the movement 
of prices, guide the natural course of development of the 
social body into artificial channels which are opposed to the 
harmony of the functions. It must not, for the sake of tem- 
poral political interests, enhance the class contrasts which, 
to the natural short-sightedness of prevailing prejudices, 
seem to exist. The task pressed upon it by the social con- 
flicts is rather to exert a reconciling influence in all directions, 
and preserve for society the peace, without which the har- 
mony of the system of the universe cannot be realized in the 
social organism. 

One advantage possessed by the Germans is their mo- 
narchical Government. It is easier for a monarchy than for 

other forms of administration to maintain in undisturbed 
operation the principles which society recognizes as the cor- 
rect ones, and to oppose the currents by which individual in- 
terests wage war against the interests of the community. 

If society, as well as the throne and the State, with correct 
judgment, earnest will, and full accord with the ethical views 
of our time, fulfil the just demands of the laboring class, our 
century will not end without solving the noblest problem as- 
signed to it, without giving to society peace in the sphere 
where contrasts, apparently irreconcilable, are striving to pre- 
vent it. 



THE END. 



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